


Koujo Lin: The Account

by sierrarefit14



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Psychological Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8665177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sierrarefit14/pseuds/sierrarefit14
Summary: Trials can make people stronger, or they can bring them to their knees. Lin Koujo must rise about the tribulations being thrown his way in order to save someone dear to him, as well as save himself and the rest of the team at SPR. A rekindled romance- will Lin be able to protect all of the people he loves, or will yet another hardship strike the Onmyouji?Note: Story is complete, working on getting it published on here. The Account is also published on Fanfiction.net under Sierrapeyton - that's my FF account. This is the same story but this version is more edited as I use Grammarly on-site now, and I didn't know that it existed when the story was originally written.





	1. Migraines

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Sorry the formatting of this is probably really off. I use Grammarly to edit my stuff, and when I put it into the word document, it messed up the spacing between dialogue. I tried to fix it as best as I could, though some of it is probably still running together.

Koujo Lin absolutely abhorred headaches. They were distracting, annoying, and downright painful. They prevented him from performing as efficiently as he needed to in his line of work. That was something unforgivable as the bodyguard and assistant of Oliver Davis. He needed to be at the top of his game at all times, he always had to be able to detect trouble, and always had to know whether or not circumstances held any sort of danger for his charge. These detestable things called 'headaches' made it difficult for him to concentrate, let alone keep a trained eye on their surroundings.  
He knew exactly why he got these sharp pains in his skull, and also knew that he could do nothing about them. They were linked to his third eye; his right eye, the one always dutifully covered by the lock of black fringe positioned over it like a veil. His right eye was blind to the type of light that his left eye could see; visual light, although it was not blind to other sorts of light. He had something called 'Electromagnetic Vision', he could see things that others could not, radio waves, electromagnetic waves, and other sources of light. He got headaches because humans were not meant to be able to see the otherwise unseen. His mind couldn't process what his right eye was detecting so the headaches were it's way of trying to force the information to leave its vicinity.

This made the headaches more intense, as Lin could not easily forget what information he had seen when he saw the same things every time he glanced at something using his covered eye. It was a constant fight between human anatomy and his powers as a psychic. Most of the time it seemed that his anatomy would win out.  
Lin had a headache now, or more like a migraine, as it was proving to be more painful than the others that he'd experienced as of late. He'd been staring at the monitor of his laptop for several minutes, trying to make sense of the words that he typed on the word document regarding SPR's last case. The text muddled together in his mind, it all looked the same, and Lin realized that if only the damn overly persistent ache in his cranium would just dissipate, he'd be able to focus and get his work done.

"Lin," A concerned feminine voice said cautiously from behind the dark-haired omnyouji. He turned around to face the voice, his hand pressed to his right temple. The voice belonged to Mai, the sixteen-year-old girl whom Naru had hired as a replacement assistant in Lin's stead after he'd been injured while protecting the aforementioned girl. Naru had kept her as an assistant and an investigator. Though he'd never given Lin any inclination as to his reasoning for hiring her, Lin thought that he knew precisely why, although he refused to let his mind wander there. Instead, he glanced down to Mai's cinnamon brown eyes and saw the worry there; she could tell that there was something off about her colleague today, "Is something wrong? You keep holding your head like you're in pain." she finished, taking a step towards him from her perch on the couch behind his desk.

"I have a minor headache. Nothing to be concerned with. I get them fairly often, so I'm used to it." Lin said, warily watching the girl as her worry changed from concern to anger and then back to the originally felt emotion

"You get chronic headaches? Have you seen a doctor about you this, Lin-San?" Mai asked, her voice hard as if she knew the answer already but was dreading hearing it.

"I have not. And even if I chose to, what would a doctor do, hmm? The only thing that one could do for my headaches is provide me the contact details for the nearest asylum. No medicine can defeat what causes my migraines." Lin replied, leaning forward on his hand as another, sharper, wave of pain shot through his head, eliciting a gasp out of the normally stoic Chinese man.

"Lin!" Mai yelled, rushing forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. His body was stiff, as if he was bracing himself against the pain, and with the loud and agonized sounding gasp that he'd let loose, she wouldn't be surprised if he was. Lin did not respond to her touch in any way, he simply concentrated on calming down his ragged breathing. He sat there with his head in his hands for several minutes, waiting until the migraine subsided into a dull ache in his temples. When he felt well enough, he turned his steely gray gaze onto Mai.  
"I'm fine, Mai, though I'll admit that these pains usually aren't so severe. This one simply caught me off guard." He admitted, gently shrugging her hand off of his shoulder. Mai sighed deeply, taking a step back.

"What did you mean when you said that medicine can't help you?" She asked, hoping that he'd feel inclined to answer. Lin turned back to his laptop, determined to finish filing the case information. Although it soon became apparent to him that Mai wasn't going to back down, as the young girl had not moved an inch since he turned away from her.

"Mai, I don't get headaches because I'm sick. It's nothing related to a disease, either. That's why medicine won't help me." He stated matter-of-factly. He turned around to gauge her reaction and fought the urge to smirk when he saw her brown eyes widen. She had realized the underlying source of his chronic headaches.

"The headaches come from your powers? But how?" Mai asked, staring hard at him as she tried to figure out the answer for herself. Lin was about to reply but was cut off as a third voice joined the conversation.

"Lin get's headaches due to the fact that he has something called electromagnetic vision. I'll explain it in terms that even you can understand, Mai." The voice said, and Lin and Mai turned to face Naru (aka Kazuya Shibuya aka Oliver Davis), who stood in the doorway of his office to the right of Lin's desk. He had a black notebook in his hand and his head bent towards it as if he was reading whatever he had written there. He gave no indication that he had spoken until Mai let out an annoyed huff. When she did, he turned his ocean blue eyes on her and gave her a condescending look.

"Mai, patience is not one of your virtues," he said, glaring at his younger assistant. If he had been paying more attention, he would have heard his older assistant mutter the word 'hypocrite' into his hand. "As I was saying, Lin has electromagnetic vision-" Naru started again, but much to his annoyance, he was cut off.

"Yes, I heard the part about him having elect-er whatever vision. There is no need to repeat yourself." Mai muttered, still annoyed at her Boss's earlier insult of her intelligence. Naru's eyes widened then narrowed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, something that meant he was supremely annoyed.

"Mai, do not childishly interrupt someone who is trying to explain something so that a person with your level of intelligence can understand," Naru said scathingly, annoyance prominent in his voice, "it would be wise of you to listen so that I do not confuse and cause you to ask pointless questions." he added, walking into the room and taking a seat on the couch that Mai had previously vacated. Mai glanced at Lin, who shook his head slightly as if silently telling her not to continue to antagonize Naru. Mai took his unspoken advice and sighed.

"I'm sorry Naru." Mai forced herself to say, giving her boss a false smile, one that he, of course, did not return. Instead, he sighed.

"As I was saying, Lin has electromagnetic vision which means that he can see radio waves and other types of light that otherwise, humans cannot see. His mind doesn't understand what it's focusing on, at least, the rational part doesn't, therefore, it tries to protect Lin from the things that he shouldn't be able to be aware of. It causes him headaches because he can't forget things that become imprinted in his mind; he sees these supposed to be invisible light sources every time he looks out of his right eye, that's the reason he keeps it covered with his hair; it stops him from seeing everything, though it's obviously not an ideal solution and doesn't help him much." Naru replied, without pausing to take a breath. Mai stared hard at Lin again, then chose to ask the question that had been eating at her mind.

"Lin, would you mind showing me your eye? I've never actually seen it, and I guess now I know the reason why," Mai said cautiously, chancing a look at her stoic colleague. He'd stiffened in his chair, his eyes not meeting hers, "It's fine if you don't want to show me, I was just curious, that's all." She added, praying that she hadn't upset or offended him. To her surprise, Lin moved the lock of hair away from his eye and gestured towards her. She took the few steps that it took to get to him slowly, coming to a stop to the left of his chair. He raised his right eye upwards, and she gasped; it wasn't wasn't gray as she had expected it to be; it was a murky blue. "Lin, why is it blue?" She asked, her voice gentle. She watched as Lin closed his right eye again, letting his black fringe fall back into place. 

He sighed deeply and glanced at Naru, who for some reason, nodded.  
"Mai, have you not figured it out, yet? I'm technically blind in my right eye; I have electromagnetic vision in it, though I can't see the same type of light that my left eye sees." Lin said slowly, hoping that he hadn't confused the girl standing beside him. She stared back at him warily.

"Does it have any link to your shiki? She asked as images of the white lights came into her mind. To her surprise, Lin stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled lightly, wincing a little at the noise. His shiki appeared, circling around their master's head.

"When you look at my shiki, what do you see?" Lin asked her, raising his hand up and coaxing one of them down from above him; it stretched out and coiled around his wrist. Mai stared at it, mesmerized by the flexible white light. She glanced up at Lin's eyes again, and noticed him staring at her; she'd neglected to answer his earlier question.

"When I look at your shiki, I see little white orbs of light that float around; they don't have a solid looking form, and they have no limbs." She said, looking up towards the ceiling where the other four shiki still floated. They all looked exactly the same to her. Lin glanced at Naru and laughed, much to Mai's surprise.

"You're not the only one who sees white lights; Naru and everyone else, other than myself, are only able to see a collection of small lights." Lin said, pausing to gently stroke the shiki wrapped around his wrist, "I see their true form; they are made up of electromagnetic waves that when exposed to visual light, will show a different form to those without electromagnetic vision. That form is what you see." He finished, carefully shaking off the shiki on his wrist and watching it float back up to the air above him. Mai's eyes followed it closely it as it began to participate in the circular rotation around Lin's head.

"How can you see a different form than everyone else? You only have electromagnetic vision in one eye, so how can you not see what we're seeing?" She asked, still not fully understanding the extent of Lin's power. He sighed, steeling himself for the complicated explanation.

"I meant that I can see both their true form and the form that is projected for those who can't see electromagnetic energies; the form I see depends on whether or not I am using my right or left eye. So to answer your earlier question, yes, my eye does have a sort of link to my shiki, if I use my right eye to look at them, I see something different than the glowing white orbs we discussed." Lin stated, rubbing his head again as another wave of pain shot through his skull; he really was tempted to try some pain reliever, if there was even a slight chance that it would work. He glanced at Mai then as an idea came to his mind.

"Mai, there's a bottle of pain reliever in the left drawer of the desk in my office, would you mind going and getting it for me?" Lin asked her casually. The young girl didn't respond in any way, she just continued to stare at the bound ghosts still continuously floating above her and her colleague's heads, as if she were mesmerized by them, and truth be told, in a way, she was. It was their job, her's, Lin's, and Naru's, to hunt ghost, and here Lin was keeping them as minions. The comical part of her brain briefly wondered if Lin had trained them to do tricks, The thought almost made her chuckle, until she felt Lin's eyes on her; she slowly turned and met his steely gaze.

"Lin-San? Is there something that you need?" She asked innocently, giving her co-worker her full attention.

"I asked whether or not you would be willing to go and retrieve the bottle of pain reliever in my office- it's in the left desk drawer," Lin repeated a barely perceptible note of impatience in his voice. The young girl's eyes widened momentarily as she realized that she had tuned Lin out so completely, but nonetheless, she scurried off towards the office to the right of his desk. Lin turned towards Naru and sighed. Noticing this, Naru gave him a quick once over with his eyes; he looked tired, something that he easily covered up with good posture, but not something that he could hide well from someone who had known him for many years.

"Lin, how long have these headaches been this excruciating? I highly doubt that this is the first of the sort that you've experienced." Naru reasoned carefully, afraid that if he pushed Lin to answer questions, his assistant would blatantly refuse to answer them. To his surprise, Lin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I've been experiencing more intense migraines for about a month now, but I don't for sure as to why they are suddenly getting worse. I've been getting headaches since I was a teenager, in fact, I began getting them even before I met you and Gene, although, they've never been quite so debilitating."  
Naru nodded his understanding and relaxed against the couch, propping his elbow against the arm rest and capturing his chin in his hand, something that the young paranormal researcher often did when thinking very deeply about something.

"Lin, do you have any idea what originally brought on the headaches? You said that you were a teenager when they first started- exactly how old were you?" He inquired quietly as his mind muddled over all of the information that he'd ever read over in medical journals, trying to recall anything that could provide insight into his assistant's worsening condition. He watched as Lin pushed his chair out from under the desk, and slowly rose to his full height. His shiki followed his motions, continuing to float dutifully above their master's head. The taller man turned his gaze to his young charge and sighed warily, meeting his ocean blue eyes once before turning his head away to look out of the window directly in front of him.

"Oliver, is there any particular reason why you feel the need to ask me so many questions? I understand why Mai would want to know- she's an exceptionally curious person, but you've never felt the need to interrogate me. What changed?" He asked quizzically. Naru chuckled dryly, surprising himself and his assistant.

"Is that what this feels like to you, Lin? An interrogation? It's hardly that- I just want to make sure that you don't pass out on the floor, I'm afraid that I'd have to dock your pay if that ever happened. Becoming ill on the job is bad for business, I'm sure you're aware of that." Naru replied slyly, a smirk on his face. Lin tried to fight off his own half grin but failed.

"Luckily Naru, you don't pay me; Martin and Luella do. Or had you forgotten about your poor parents? By the way, you haven't called your mother in weeks, have you?" Lin retorted, phrasing the last part like a question as he glanced at Naru with feigned innocence, the smirk widening into a sadistic smile, "Luella will probably get so worried that she'll make Martin drive her all the way from England to Japan. Maybe I should call and inform her that her son is overworking himself again and not sleeping." He threatened, watching as his young charge's Cerulean blue eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. Lin genuinely laughed at his friend's obvious terror of the looming threat of an unplanned visit from his nagging and overprotective mother. Hearing the sound of being laughed at, Naru snapped out of his daze and schooled his expression, forcing himself to put on his mask of stoic indifference once again.  
"  
I'm not an idiot, Lin- I know you're bluffing. You wouldn't dare call Luella, seeing as she'd force you to rest and go see a doctor for these headaches, and you know that you wouldn't be able to refuse. When that woman wants something, she get's it. Even Martin gives into her whims." Naru proclaimed, he hoped that Lin would remember that a visit from Luella would not only cause him irritation, but the stoic Chinese man standing in front of him as well. He knew how much Lin liked order and serenity, and with Luella around, their lives would be anything but. Likewise, the dark-haired omnyouji seemed to realize this as well, he stopped looking out the window and met Naru's blue gaze once more.

"You're right, I was bluffing. Although, I think you were aware of that already," Lin acknowledged warily, knowing damn well that though Luella had his and her son's best interests at heart, she was a very forceful person when in came to people refusing to succumb to her motherly instincts. "I'd never do anything to sabotage the relative quiet of the office, it's bad enough when Monk and Ayako come here and bicker constantly." He added the last part with a slight note of disapproval in his deep voice. Sometimes he secretly wished that the self-proclaimed Shrine Maiden and Buddhist monk would realize that they liked each other and finally start dating. He had similar desires for Oliver and a certain brunette to realize the same romantic feelings that they had toward each other. It would save him the irritation of listening to two teenagers bicker all day, or so he hoped. He was broken out of his reverie as all of the sudden, loud footsteps could be heard bounding over the wooden floor of SPR's reception room as Mai dashed hurriedly into the room, a bottle of Tylenol tightly clutched in her hand. She stopped beside Lin who turned to look at her, an eyebrow quirked in confusion at her seemingly excited mood.

"Sorry, it took me so long, Lin. I guess that you said left desk drawer- I was looking in the right." She said, smiling apologetically as she held out the bottle of pain reliever to her colleague. He took it and glanced at Naru, who was smirking.

"Mai, I knew you were dumb, but I thought that you were coherent enough to know your right from your left. Maybe I should cut some of your work hours so that you can spend more time in school, because apparently, you could use the extra help," Naru said condescendingly, a slight smirk gracing his lips. Mai huffed and was on the verge of saying something that she would undoubtedly come to regret, but couldn't get the words out fast enough before Naru continued to speak, "Mai, tea." he ordered, his smirk growing slightly as she turned to glower scathingly in his direction. Lin's shiki circled around his head more quickly as they sensed the growing tension in the room, signaling their master that they were ready to intervene if need be. 'Méiyǒu yǐnqǐ rénmen de guānzhù.' Lin said to them in Chinese, using the telepathic link that he shared with his shiki to send them a calming message. The shiki responded by floating a little bit closer to their master's head, as if preparing to defend him if the need arose, though they stopped circling quite so fast, and for that, Lin was secretly glad due to the fact that a severe migraine and watching something spin rapidly often had repercussions. He was not going to give Naru the satisfaction of seeing him get sick during work if he could prevent it; he'd never live it down.  
At the same time, Mai blushed scarlet as Naru smirked at her. "Stupid narcissist!" She shrieked, before darting out of the reception room and beginning to run in the general direction of the kitchen. Lin shook his head slightly and ran a hand through his thick black hair, smoothing down the lock covering his right eye. Lin met Naru's scrutinizing gaze and sighed.

"You still want to try and find the underlying cause of the change in severity of these headaches, don't you?" He questioned, although he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Naru replied simply, raising an eyebrow as he paused, waiting for the revelation to sink in, "I need to know what you think caused the original headaches." Lin nodded as the headache once again became overwhelming. He sat back down on his desk chair and stuck his fingers in his mouth, and whistled as quietly as he could. His shiki evaporated and disappeared once again. He placed the still unopened bottle of Tylenol on his desktop and turned to stare at his charge, his gray eyes hard.

"When I first started getting headaches, it was right around the time that my powers started growing stronger. It was unexpected, although I'd always known that I could sense things that other people could not, but never had I been able to see spirits so clearly." Lin said as he idly rubbed his temples.

"Is is possible that a powerful spirit is trying to contact you and is unable to project itself properly, although your eye is still trying to sense it?" Naru asked, his voice calculating.

"I honestly don't know, Oliver," Lin answered, wishing that Naru would just drop the subject entirely, Talking was making his migraine worse, "Maybe I should give Martin a call. He might know what the headaches mean, and be able to sate your curiosity on the matter as well." He added, saying the last part rather sarcastically.  
Naru ignored the obvious sarcasm directed at him and nodded. "As long as mother doesn't catch wind of it, then I'm quite alright with Martin providing his aid." He agreed reasonably. That's when Mai came back into the room, a tray with three mugs of Earl Grey tea situated on it. She walked over to Lin and placed a cup of the steaming brown liquid on his desk. He glanced up at her and nodded his thanks, offering her a slight smile before grabbing the bottle of Tylenol and twisting off the cap. He blew into his mug to cool down the tea some, then took a sip, and dumped two tablets of Tylenol into his mouth. He didn't honestly think that they would work, but he needed to try something to stop this distraction. He swallowed the pills and sat his tea cup down, turning his attention towards Mai, who was standing in front of Naru, the now empty tea platter held in her hand. She was gazing at the roof, where Lin's shiki had been before she'd left.

"Lin, what happened to the shiki? I was going to ask if I could touch them, you know I've never touched a spirit unless it was trying to kill me and-" She stuttered, but was cut off by her narcissistic boss.

"Of course," Naru began, shaking his head, "ghosts try to kill her all the time, yet she still feels the need to pet them."  
Lin was about to reply, though to his shock and mild annoyance, his cell phone rang from his pants pocket. He slipped it out, wincing at the droning ring-tone as it made his headache slightly worse, and glanced at his caller ID. He felt his heart rise up to his throat and his stomach hit the floor; it was his father, someone whom he didn't have the best relationship with and only spoke to on rare occasions.

"Dad?" He choked out, as he watched Mai and Naru stare at each other, unspoken concern in Mai's gaze and forced stoicism in Naru's.

"Koujo," the gruff yet familiar voice of Lin's father rang through the receiver, "It's your sister. She's gone missing."  
Lin dropped the phone.


	2. Dreams of the Darkest Kind

Koujo Lin typed restlessly at his computer, his dark eyes scanning the word document containing the unfinished details of the last case that Shibuya Psychic Research had solved. He hadn't been able to finish it with the migraine that he'd been suffering from earlier in the day, and then the phone call from his father, and the dramatic recall. He was now tired and the time was past midnight, so the onmyouji's mind was not really on his work, for a change. Instead, his thoughts were dedicated to the aforementioned phone call that had very nearly shocked him to death; his sister, Lifen, was missing.

Lifen was nineteen, in reality, not much older than Mai. She was one of the reasons that the stoic onmyouji, who had a strong detestation for the Japanese people, had begun to warm up considerably towards the feisty brunette who was his co-worker. In some ways, she reminded him of his sister- both passionate and loyal. Though Lifen was more of a handful as Lin remembered, last time he'd went back to Hong Kong to visit, Lifen had been eighteen and already had quite a rebellious streak, according to their mother. He guessed that it must have been quite difficult for her growing up; she did have four older brothers to contend with- all averaging above six foot two in height.

Lin remembered having to compete with his older brothers- Draidyan and Lukida when he was her age. He had thought that he'd never had someone to get the one-up on until his mother had given birth to his only younger brother, Nazuke. Then three years later, she had announced that she was having her first, and most likely only girl as she felt like she was becoming too old to continue having children.

Lifen had become precious to Lin fast- brothers were a quantity that sometimes he'd felt like he had had too much of, but sisters, he only had the one. He had filled the protective older brother role well until he'd gotten the call from Martin and Luella Davis regarding their son who had an impressively large amount of PK and needed to be taught Qigong to control it. This was just after Lin had graduated High School, and his grades were high enough to attend Cambridge, meaning that he could go to school as well as watch over Noll at the same time- it had fit perfectly.

Lin had been seventeen, and Lifen only nine when he'd left Hong Kong. The young girl had made her older brother swear (she had only a little while before upgraded from the pinkie-promise), that he would be careful in England, and not to forget to come home every once in a while. It had been hard, though Lin had managed to come home and visit his family every year until his transfer to Japan upon Eugene Davis's untimely demise.

He had missed his yearly visit- much to Lifen's irritation, as Lin painfully remembered. He regretted that now- he realized that if she was not found safely, he might never see her again. He might never get to see her marry, or have children.

He had sworn to be careful, so why hadn't he asked her to do the same while in China? She had thought about his safety, but had he thought about hers? Guilt made the usually stoic Onmyouji cease in his typing and close his dark eyes.

Footsteps outside of his office door caused Lin's eyes to pop open; he strained his ears to hear in the silence of the room, after a moment, he managed to hone into the noise; and realized that it was the unmistakable pitter-patter of feet on the hardwood floor of SPR's reception room.

This was strange as the only other people who were supposed to be at the office were Naru and Mai, the former who was working in his office and the latter who was sleeping upstairs in one of the adjoining apartments (she had moved into the one opposite of the apartment that Lin and Noll shared when they returned from England- her landlord had realized that he could get into legal trouble for allowing an underage orphan to rent from him, and had not wished for the problems), and should not have been awake, as far as the Onmyouji was concerned.

He held onto that train of thought until he heard a familiar voice coming from the office adjacent to his own- it was indubitably Mai's.

"Naru, are you awake?" A pause ensued, and then, "Naru, I think that there's something wrong...it feels like that int- into thingie or whatever you call it." Lin strained his ears and was surprised when he heard an obviously sleep-tinged voice reply.

"Mai, do you have any idea what time it is?" It was Oliver's voice, and the irritation from being awoken was clearly evident in his voice.

"No." Lin heard the soft and slightly worried reply from the young brunette, and then the audible sigh of frustration from his charge.

"It's past midnight, Mai, why aren't you in bed asleep? You do realize that you have work in the morning, correct? I don't want you taking naps on the job any more than you already do." The paranormal researcher muttered in a beseeching tone. Lin realized that in his tired state, Noll had not understood Mai's reason for waking him up. The black haired man stood up from behind his mahogany wood desk and rose to his full height, completely prepared to march into his charge's office and speak on Mai's behalf, as he knew why she had gone into her Boss's office at the hour she had. However, the need didn't arise as neither of the teenagers spoke for several minutes, due to this, Lin assumed that the altercation had upset Mai and she was standing in Noll's office sulking, so he went back to typing out the case details, the rhythmic sound of his keys clicking luring his mind into a state inattention. He unconsciously tuned out the noises of his environment (something that he had gotten used to doing while Masako, Ayako, and Monk were called in to investigate cases), until he heard a particular phrase from the office next to his that contained his name. At that moment, the Onmyodo's ears perked up.

"Mai, that still doesn't explain why you didn't go to Lin with this- he knows just as much about your intuition as I do and I assure you that he is fully capable of keeping you safe should the need arise." Noll's voice was still weary with sleep, although it seemed as if some of his prior irritation with his younger assistant had evaporated, no doubt due to the fact that Mai had recounted her reason for interfering with his slumber once again.

"Lin was asleep on the couch when I came downstairs, I didn't want to wake him up, and well, I didn't know that you'd be asleep and by the time I came in here and realized that you were it was too late-" Mai stuttered, her voice rising as she tried to explain her actions to her Boss. The narcissist mercifully cut her off.

"Never mind that now- what's more important is why Lin was sleeping on the couch in the first place- he has a bedroom upstairs should he get tired, which is a rare occasion in itself it seems."

By this time Lin had made his way to the door of his office and pulled it open, revealing the darkened SPR reception room; his view of the couch was clear, and there was no figure resembling his own lying on the couch, although somehow that made him feel more uneasy. Who or what was it that Mai saw?' He wondered anxiously to himself. Lin summoned his shiki with his mind (he only had to whistle when he need them to become visible to everyone else), and they appeared to him without fail- five humanoid looking creatures slightly resembling young children. At first glance, they could be considered cute, but on closer inspection, they had twisted fangs protruding out from their mouths, like a cats, and paws to match. As he watched one even flexed his hand and dangerous claws slid out silently as the 'child' flexed. The most disturbing aspect was the pair of wings jutting out from their shoulders lending to their eerie and otherworldly aspects. This was their true form- the one only someone with electromagnetic vision could see. The white lights that appeared to everyone else were their choice of physical manifestation, as it was a very basic and easy to manipulate form.

Though Lin had the power to order his Shikigami to change their physical projection anything that he desired (it took his own energy to do so, and could have very dangerous consequences if he attempted to change all five of them at one time into a form he was not utterly familiar with), he could not command them to change the childlike form he laid eyes on every time he looked at them out of his right eye, as they did not have the power to change their real form.

Once his shiki were present, Lin made his way out into the darkened reception room and felt chills run up his spine. Continuing forward, he made his way to Oliver's office to the right of his own and pushed open the door. Naru was sitting at his desk, his chin captured in his hand, and Mai was standing beside him, her cinnamon eyes wide.

"Lin," the brunette said gently, her eyes slowly meeting co-worker's wary gaze, "why were you sleeping on the couch- why not go upstairs?" Lin chuckled darkly, causing the young girl to blink in confusion.

"I haven't been anywhere near the couch tonight, let alone sleeping on it, Mai," He said, his gray gaze traveling to Naru's blue one. The paranormal researcher had an unreadable expression on his stoic face, however, his right hand, the one not holding his chin, was drumming a slight rhythm on his desktop.

"Mai, are you positive that you saw Lin on the couch? It wouldn't be the first time that you were wrong about something," Naru questioned, unable to hide the slight smirk that formed on his face; Lin knew that he secretly loved the kick that he got out of insulting his young assistant's intelligence, as he never failed to get a reaction out of her.

"Yes, you stupid narcissist! I know what I saw; Lin or someone who looked a lot like him was sleeping on the couch," Mai yelled, her gaze hardening, she did not like to be doubted. Although by now, Lin had heard enough to know that something was off.

"Mai, I assure that the only time that I have left my office since around eight at night was to come in here. I have not been on the couch." Mai's face faltered, then fell as she realized what Lin was saying; she really hadn't seen him.

"Do you think that I could have been imagining it, Naru? You told me to trust my gut feelings, and I could have sworn that this was like one of those," The young psychic tried to defend herself, however even her own voice had taken on a dubious tone as if she was no longer convinced herself. Although Lin did not feel in the slightest that she had imagined it. Thinking like that was something that could get them killed in their line of work.

"Mai," The stoic Onmyouji said, gaining the attention of his younger co-worker, "did you have one of those 'gut feelings' before or after you saw what looked like me on the couch?" He watched as her brown eyes narrowed then closed as she recounted the past fifteen minutes in her head. After a moment, she opened her eyes and spoke.

"Before. As soon as I woke up, I felt like something was wrong. Then I saw you, or what wasn't you on the couch and came in here to tell Naru," Mai answered, her brow crinkling as she thought back to the moment that she had awoken.

"What woke you up originally, did you have a dream or something of the sort?" Naru chimed in, his dark eyes scanning around the room uneasily.

"I did have a dream, actually. Gene was in it too- he told me to wake up but he wouldn't, or couldn't tell me why." Mai answered. Lin could see the barely perceptible stiffening of Naru's shoulders as he heard the news that his dead twin brother was still acting as a spirit guide to Mai and had not passed on; the Onmyouji was sure that the body language would be lost on anyone who hadn't know the young paranormal researcher as long as he had, but Lin could not be so easily fooled by his friend's stoic persona; he knew that as deep down as it may have been, Oliver did miss Eugene greatly.

However, when Noll spoke, his tone sounded as casual as if he were discussing the weather forecast, and not a dream in which his deceased twin brother was attempting to provide aid to his danger magnet of an assistant.

"Gene didn't say anything about the reason why it would be prudent for you to awaken, he simply told you to wake up, am I correct?" He asked, sounding slightly unconvinced.

"Well, to tell you the truth, Gene didn't actually 'say' anything," The brunette began, smiling sheepishly at her Boss, who as always, remained stoic, "but his eyes said to wake up; they looked scared, and his mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. It was like something was blocking him from communicating with me," She finished in a rush, memories of her spirit guide's pleading cerulean blue eyes, identical to the one's belonging to the man in front of her, begging her to wake up.

Naru stood up suddenly from behind his desk and headed towards the door. Lin moved to follow, and when Mai did not, her boss turned to look at her from over his shoulder.

"Mai, why are still standing there looking like an idiot? Are you coming or what?" asked Naru, a slight edge of annoyance in his voice.

"Where are we going, Naru?" The brunette asked, coming up behind Lin and falling into step with him as he and Naru exited the office. Oliver, as per the usual, said nothing, however, Lin offered a few words in the way of an explanation.

"Oliver has no idea what it was that you saw- he would rather take the precaution of leaving the office temporarily than remaining and running the risk of a return visit," The Onmyouji replied, his eyes darting around the darkened reception room that they had come into. He did not see anything suspicious, however, the chill that he had felt upon walking out of his office had not left him. He followed behind Naru until he saw his charge approach the couch where Mai had saw the figure that had looked like him.

"What is it Naru?" Mai asked, taking a few steps forward, however, she did not get far, as Lin's furious voice startled her.

"NOLL- don't do it!" he yelled, the words sounding as though they had been ripped from his throat. Oliver, however, did not listen, as his hand snaked towards the couch. A sharp gasp escaped him as he was pulled into a psychometric vision. His shoulders stiffened, and his blue eyes glazed over. Mai yelled, however, Lin just stared. 'What the hell is he thinking? He knows what will happen! The Onmyouji screamed inside of his head.

He rushed forward as he saw Naru sliding towards the floor, reaching out, he caught his young charge. He had fallen unconscious, the strain on his body had been too much without the distribution of energy that only Eugene could have done with him. Lin stared at his charge's unconscious face, as Mai's eyes welled with tears.

"Lin, is he alright?" She asked, coming to stand behind her co-worker. Lin did not reply until he had stood up with Naru in his arms. After a moment, he turned towards the brunette and sighed.

"Yes, he'll be fine after he rests for awhile. As you are aware, his body cannot handle the physical strain that his powers cause, and will respond in varying ways depending on how taxed his energy was. Falling unconscious was simply the repercussion of Noll using his powers this time, we should actually consider ourselves quite lucky that it was not something worse," Mai flinched at his words, however she was well aware that Lin spoke the truth; the last time that Naru had used his powers, his heart had stopped, and he had very nearly died.

Mai shuddered, causing Lin to pick up on what she was thinking.

"This isn't as dire as what happened after his altercation with the Okobu- Naru should recover from this without a hospital visit. There is no need to be alarmed, Mai."

Gesturing towards the door with a slight nod of his head, Lin led the way towards the door and out of the SPR building, Mai following closely behind him. When they got outside, Lin headed straight towards the van and stopped outside of the right door. Mai opened it up for him and watched as he laid Naru inside and went to the driver's side and slipped into the seat. Mai made a move towards the door, however, Lin looked at her from inside the van and shook his head, waving his hand towards the seat behind him; he apparently wanted her to sit in the back to keep an eye on Naru.

Inside the van, Lin buckled up his seat belt and placed the keys in the ignition, causing the car to roar to life. He finished adjusting his mirrors just as Mai's door closed and her own seat belt clicked. Lin put the van into drive and headed towards a hotel further away in Shibuya.

When he pulled the van onto the road, he glanced at his two younger traveling companions in the back seat. Mai had pulled Noll's head into her lap and was stroking his raven colored hair. The Onmyouji wasn't sure if she was aware of what she was doing. However, he glanced at his charge's sleeping face for a fraction of a second, and he could have sworn that his expression looked peaceful. Although, when he turned his gaze back towards Oliver, his face was as stoic as ever. Lin smirked slightly before glancing into the backseat again. His smirk disappeared when he saw the flow of tears streaming from Mai's eyes. She met his gaze in the mirror, but she looked away just as quickly.

"Listen, Mai, I told you that he would be just fine after some rests for a night- I'm driving us to a hotel where he can do so. If it is of any consolation to you, if he begins exhibiting signs of a worsening condition, I will not hesitate to get him emergency care. Just trust me on this; he will recover, as he has done before," Mai nodded and wiped her eyes. She proceeded to lay her head on the back of the seat and relax. Lin paid attention to the road and drove in silence for several minutes until the Creston Hotel came into his line of sight. He pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car in a spot close to the entrance.

With a sigh the tall man walked towards the back door and tapped on the window; Mai had fallen asleep. Hearing the noise, the young girl's eyes popped open just as Lin opened the door.

"Mai, I need you to lay Noll down on the seat and get out of the van so I can get a hold of him," The brunette nodded and rubbed her eyes, then gently eased herself out from under her Boss's unconscious form. Lin held out his hand and Mai took it, allowing herself to be hauled out of the van. She released her co-worker's hand just before he turned his back to her and grabbed Naru under the arms, then hefted him up and out of the vehicle. Mai slammed the door closed and followed Lin through the automatic doors of the hotel.

Once they reached the lobby, Lin spotted a vacant couch at the far end of the room and carried his unconscious charge towards it. By the time Mai had caught up with Lin, he had already laid Naru on the floral patterned couch, with his head propped up on the cushion.

He turned on his heel and walked towards the receptionist's desk. A young Japanese woman with long brown hair stared at the man in front of her with her mouth hanging wide open, revealing her pearly white teeth. Realizing that he was there as a customer, she recovered herself slightly and offered Lin a flirty smile.

"Hello sir," She began, leaning forward so that her cleavage strained against her white Creston Hotel shirt, "if there is anything at all that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask," Lin didn't acknowledge her obvious come on's in any way.

"I need a room with at least two beds, preferably on the bottom floor," He said, turning around slightly to look over his shoulder at Naru, who had not moved. The receptionist followed his gaze to the unconscious teenager that she had seen the taller man carry inside the lobby and place on the couch.

"Is your friend over there alright?" She asked finally, drawing Lin's attention back to her. The Onmyouji nodded, quickly coming up with a more believable excuse for his charge's unconscious state in his head.

"He was invited to a party with alcohol, and it appears that he had too much to drink. I thought it better to allow him to rest up here than to transport him home in this condition," The receptionist nodded, and pressed a few keys on the computer in front of her.

"I have a room that fits all of your requirements with the addition of a daybed- sound good to you, sir?" Truth be told, the room sounded perfect- Lin had originally asked for a two bedroom, as he had not intended to sleep while staying at the hotel (his shiki despised new places, and became very restless when exposed to new environments), however, Lin now felt like he would need to rest to be able to function the next morning; it had been a very long day for him, and the Onmyouji had begun to feel the effects. He had intended for Mai to have a separate bed from Noll, however now Mai could take the day bed and he the one originally meant for her.

"We'll take it," He replied simply, placing a hand on Mai's shoulder to steady her; the young brunette had closed her eyes, and very nearly fallen asleep on her feet. The receptionist chuckled brightly, her gaze traveling to where Mai stood at Lin's side.

"Seems like you need to get your daughter to bed, she looks half dead on her feet," She smirked, causing Mai to blush. Lin shook his head at Mai as if silently telling her not to worry about the woman in front of them. Mai huffed but nodded her head in agreement. "May I please have your name and credit card information, sir?"

"My name is Lin Koujo, however, I will be paying with cash, so would you mind telling me now much the bill for one night will be?" Lin asked, pulling out a black leather wallet from the pocket of his dress pants.

"One hundred and sixty dollars Mr. Lin. But for a little extra, I could come up to the room with you, if you want me to," She offered, leaning forward and placing a hand on Lin's arm. He stiffened slightly and turned a steely gray gaze onto her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Aren't there regulations in place prohibiting this kind of behavior towards customers? Do you want to lose your job that badly?" He asked, a more than slightly perceptible edge of anger in his voice.

"No sir, I apologize for my behavior I didn't mean to-" She began, however, Lin would have none of it. His mood had been foul since he had learned of Lifen's disappearance, however, he had managed to keep his behavior civil. But this receptionist had grated on his very last nerve.

"I came here to get a damn room, not to picked up by the receptionist. Now if you wouldn't mind doing your job, the girl beside me is exhausted , and I've had a very long day myself." The receptionist's eyes widened, and she appeared as if she were about to cry, however, she held her hand out towards Lin, and he handed her the money he owed for the room. She took it with a jerk of her wrist, making sure that her skin did not contact his.

"Your room number is seventeen, here's your card key. If you intend to stay until breakfast, it will be served at seven a.m. Please enjoy your stay at the Creston," Lin nodded and grabbed the key out of her hand, then promptly spun around towards the couch that he had laid Naru on. The paranormal researcher had not stirred at all since Lin had placed him there, though his breathing was steady.

Lin scooped him up into his arms and handed Mai the card key to room seventeen. She took it from his hand and slipped into the pocket of her jeans. Lin nodded to her and proceeded to carry Naru out of the lobby and down the hallway.

Their room was the seventeenth on the left side of the long hallway. Mai stood in front of Lin and clicked int the key, then pushed the door open. She stood over to the edge so that Lin could push past her and into the suite. Once inside, Lin approached the bed to the left of the room and placed his charge on it, then covered him with the light brown comforter. Naru stirred slightly, a slight groan escaping him, however, his blue eyes did not open.

Lin turned towards Mai to ask if she would mind taking the day bed so he could have the larger bed to the right of Naru's, however, the brunette had already crawled into the smaller bed and appeared to have fallen asleep.

Lin smirked slightly before making his way towards the vacant bed opposite of Noll's. Reaching it, Lin unfastened his belt and loosened his tie, then removed his shoes and shirt. When he was finished, he placed the discarded items on the table to the left of his bed and laid down on the soft mattress. Pulling the covers over himself, he focused his gaze on the wall directly in front of his bed. All of the sudden, after blinking, a young girl appeared in his field of vision. But not just any girl. It was Lifen. Lin stared at his sister with narrowed gray eyes.

Lifen stared back at Lin, her deep blue eyes, with just a hint of the gray of his own left eye, were slightly wide and panicked looking. Her clothing- a shirt that appeared to have been purple but was now caked with mud, and a pair of jeans, were tattered almost beyond recognition. Her long black hair was disheveled- something that Lin knew for a fact was no fault of her own, as she had always taken great lengths to keep her hair, her self-proclaimed 'best feature', looking it's best. Upon closer inspection, Lin realized that she had bruises going up her exposed arms, as the flesh, there was almost completely purple, and a slight trail of blood leaked down her face from a gash on her cheek- it appeared as though she had been punched or bashed with a blunt object. Anger, fierce and unbridled made Lin clench his fist as he sat up in bed.

Though Lifen shook her head 'no', as if silently telling him not to come any closer. Lin backed down, though his dark gaze was on fire. He wanted to hunt down the bastard who had done this to Lifen and make them suffer- to feel every minuscule amount of pain that they had caused her in tenfold. Lin knew that when he got his hands on the culprit, no one would be able to make him show any form of mercy. Not that he would have anyway- one of the worst mistakes that anyone could make was going after someone's family, especially when they had as strong bonds as Lin had with his only sister.

Lifen smiled, though the expression was full of pain as the stretching of her skin aggravated the gash on her cheek. Lin's blood boiled as he watched her, so clearly trying to be strong for him, but failing so miserably. The normally strong, independent and brave girl looked like she had been forced through the ringer, time and time again. Her eyes had never before appeared so dull, nor so humorless. It would have physically hurt Draidyan, the brother whose dry humor she had inherited, to see the younger sister whom he had trained exceptionally well to understand jokes, as listless as she was and without any form of merit. Lin internally cringed as the thought made him mentally compare the image of Lifen from his last visit to China to the battered version of her that he was seeing now. It almost didn't register on the furious Onmyouji how much suffering must have been inflicted on her.

Noticing her brother's enraged gaze trained on her, Lifen allowed her smile to fade, then opened her mouth as if to speak. Lin did not expect any words to come out but was shocked when they did.

"Koujo," Lifen said, the word sounding painful as she forced it out of her dry throat, "don't give me that look- I'm alright," Lin sucked in a sharp breath and stared at his sister as if she had lost her mind, and in a way, he wondered is she had. Alright? He thought to himself vehemently, I would hardly call bleeding and beaten alright. Although he didn't say that aloud, simply stared at her with an eyebrow raised. Taking the hint, Lifen sighed.

"It's really not as bad as it looks- I can hardly feel any of it. Honestly, It could be worse," Lin flinched at her words, causing Lifen's expression to change. She had seemed to realize that none of her statement would have reassured her brother, who had known her since she was little- he would have been able to see through any of his sibling's facades; she was no exception.

"Don't you dare lie to me, Lifen. I'm not as dense as you seem to take me for. Far from it, in fact. I have eyes. One may be blind, but the other is plenty good enough to see the cuts and bruises all over your body. You are far from fine. Don't pretend otherwise," Lin vented, his tone clipped and his words sounding as though they had been forged from the fire of his intense anger. Lifen's face fell and she looked away, the tightness of her jaw was not lost on Koujo. He knew all too well that she was trying to prevent herself from breaking down in tears.

"What do you want me to do, Koujo? I can cry, I can yell or pray. But it's not going to get me out of here," Lifen said, still not looking at Lin. Her voice sounded thick with tears, though Lin's mind was unable to process that fact fully as one thing his sister had said set him off. 'It's not going to get me out of here' She had said 'here' as if she were still in the place where she had been taken after being kidnapped or whatever had happened, and not present in the hotel room with him. It was in that moment of shock that Lin realized that this was not real, and he had to be dreaming Lifen was not in the room with him, the visage of her was just his subconscious being unusually cold and playing tricks on him in his saddened emotional state. When he woke up, Lifen would not be at the foot of his bed.

Lifen seemed to notice the change in Koujo's expression, as she sighed deeply.

"Koujo, I know that you think that this is just a dream- I don't blame you for that. I shouldn't have taken advantage of the fact that you fell asleep to get in contact with you, but I had no other choice." Lin heard her words, but his mind refused to believe them. What she was telling him just didn't add up.

"What you're telling me is that you Astral Projected yourself into my dreams. Believable under normal circumstances, however, Lifen does not possess the skill of Astral Projection," He countered, closing his eyes in frustration.

"You're not thinking clearly, apparently. I know that you are aware that under extreme emotional stress, a person's consciousness can detach itself from the body, without the individual having prior knowledge of how to do so. Koujo, you're the one who taught me that," Lin opened his eyes, fully prepared to tell his sister off, but to his surprise, Lifen was no longer standing in front of the bed, nor was Naru laying in the bed beside his own, or Mai sleeping in the day bed beside the table that had the television sitting on it.

Realizing this, Lin's heart was beating furiously as got out of bed, and glanced around the now evidently empty room. His pulsed raced as he sent a command to his shiki to manifest. None appeared. The startled Onmyodo waited for another minute, however, not one of his five shiki were present. Unsure of what to do, Lin made his way towards the bathroom, the door on the left of the entryway to the hotel room. The door was closed, so Lin pushed it open, and entered the white paneled room.

He saw a tall figure standing in front of the mirror on the farthest end of the bathroom from him. The sound of water running was coming from the sink- a detail that Lin had missed prior to entering the restroom. And there was something else unusual- there was a slight scent of something metallic in the air. Lin knew that he recognized the smell, however, his mind refused to reconcile with the memories of where he'd smelled it before.

Lin stared at the back of the figure's head, before noticing something that made his blood run cold. It had black hair, the same shade as his own, to be precise. Lin stopped dead in his tracks as the figure, whose back was to him, began turning around to face him. At that moment, Lin's head had begun to pound, almost as bad as it had the day before back at the office.

Lin's breath caught in his throat as he was met with one gray eye, and one blue eye, identical to his own. And a face that looked just like his, only caked in blood, and with a sadistic smile painted across his lips. The mouth moved, and exposed teeth, normally white, which now appeared to be stained red. The look alike laughed, a shrill, blood-curdling noise so different from Lin's normal one. It took a step towards its counterpart, who had raised his hands in front of his chest in an attempt to ward himself off. Suddenly, the look alike stopped moving forward and stopped smiling. It raised its own hand, and Lin saw something that made his stomach churn.

The other Lin was holding a golden necklace with diamonds spanning the length of it. To others, it might have looked like any other necklace, but to Lin, it was like looking at a ghost. Lifen's necklace, the one that she normally wore all the time, and the one that Lin had apparently not registered that she wasn't wearing when he had previously seen her in his 'dream', looked just like the one hanging loosely from the figure's hand.

Lin stared up into his adversary's face and was met with a cold smile and expression that he could never remember making with his own face. The figure opened its mouth and uttered a single, bloodcurdling sentence.

"You did this to her."

Lin shot up in bed, nearly knocking over the lamp on the table as the force rocked the bed frame. His heart was racing at a pace that could not have been healthy, and his breath was coming out in forced pants. The Onmyouji closed his eyes, and held his head in his hands, which he realized, were shaking uncontrollably. He tried to stop them from moving, all to no avail. His head no longer hurt, however, his thoughts, normally so calm and collected, were in turmoil. Questions, so many damn questions, flashed through his mind, and he flinched behind tightly closed eyes. What did I just see? Was that really Lifen, or was that just my mind playing tricks on me? Why- why was I holding her necklace? Am I somehow the responsible for her disappearance? Lin didn't have an answer to any of those questions, though he knew one thing for sure; if any part of his dream had been true, then the situation was indeed dire


	3. Repercussions

The situation centering around Lifen had become dire indeed if anything that her older brother, Koujo Lin, had seen in his 'dreams', was to be trusted. The aforementioned Onmyouji had not moved from his position on the hotel bed where he had previously fallen asleep. His heart still beat furiously from within his chest cavity, and his breath still came out in ragged pants. His hands had stopped shaking some, however, there was still a slight tremor as the shock began to abate. In all honesty, he was terrified that what he had just seen was true. Was he the cause of this mess? Lin didn't know for certain, and truth be told, he'd rather not have to find out if he was somehow linked. Thankfully, a voice tore him out of his reverie.

"Bad dream?" The question came from Lin's left and hung in the air for a moment. It was Noll, who had apparently awoken from his earlier excursion.

"More or less," Lin replied, turning his head and casting a glance in his charge's direction. Oliver's face appeared paler than usual in the dimness of the room, and his blue eyes were partially closed, his hand was placed loosely on his stomach; the teenager didn't look well at all to his stoic guardian.

"Oliver, you look like you aren't feeling particularly well," he said offhandedly, though the concern was evident in his expression. Noll's eyes popped open, and he lifted them up to meet his bodyguard's gaze as if pondering the question directed at him carefully.

"I feel slightly sick to my stomach- nothing unusual. It often happens when I use my PK. As I don't remember coming into this hotel, I assume that I lost consciousness as well?" He asked, closing his eyes again. Lin's mind replayed the events of the night before, and his expression turned down into a slight scowl.

"Yes, you did. About that-" The Onmyodo began, but was cut off by a dark sigh from his charge.

"I know," Naru said, the two words spoken in a low, clipped sounding tone. Lin's gray eyes narrowed to slits; his patience seemed to have been sapped after the dream that he had just had- he was suppressing the shock of it, and it was making him wary. He did not have the sense of calm that he normally needed when dealing with Oliver.

"If you know what I'm going to say, then why the hell did you use your psychometry? What kind of logic did you apply when you decided that it would be a good idea to do something that you knew could injure you, or worse yet, kill you?" he asked, surprised by the obvious anger that could be heard in his voice. Naru raised an eyebrow, expressing his own shock that Lin had actually gotten sharp with him- he was used to the familiar scolding after he did something that his bodyguard did not approve of, however, he had never heard his assistant take on such a harsh tone.

"I wanted to know what Mai had seen- Believe it or not, I have had times when using my PK didn't leave me in an unconscious state. I did not realize that doing so this time would cause that reaction in my body," Naru replied, clutching his stomach tighter as the sense nausea he was feeling intensified. Noticing the action, Lin stared at his charge and shook his head in disapproval.

"Fine, we can talk about this later- it appears as though you could use more time to recuperate, and I could use some more rest myself," The Onmyodo stated, his gray gaze meeting Naru's blue one. The narcissist's eyes become wide, and his features paler. He stood up from his bed unexpectedly, before making his way towards the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

Lin sighed as a memory of a time early in Oliver's training of learning Qigong, when he had accidentally used his PK, and vomited right as Luella had walked into the living room. The motherly onslaught had been epic, as she had not understood what had been ailing her son. The Onmyouji was just grateful that Oliver was old enough to realize that he was going to be sick and quick enough to get to the bathroom this time- he did not want to have to be the one who had to call Martin to give him the bill for the carpet cleaners.

Although Naru was the cause of his own illness, as he had known that the use of his PK almost never went in his favor, Lin could still sympathize with him, as his charge had looked extremely unwell, even before seeming to feel the urge to throw up. Lin hadn't expected Noll to be sick when he awoke- that was not something that happened often, at least not to his knowledge. Although he would definitely prefer puking Oliver to 'heart has stopped and not breathing' Oliver. The former would be easier to care for than the latter.

At that moment, a groan sounded from the otherwise quite hotel room, and Lin looked up to see Mai staring at him. She blushed when she realized that the dark haired Onmyouji had noticed her staring, and the twenty-seven-year-old became aware of the fact that he was sitting up in bed uncovered, shirtless. With a sigh, he reached over to the bedside table where he had left his black button up shirt and slipped his arms into it. He swung his long legs over the side of the bed and buttoned the article of clothing, then turned his head towards Mai, who met his gaze, the blush no longer present on her cheeks.

"Where's Naru?" The brunette asked, worry present in here brown eyes. Lin stared at her for a moment, choosing his words carefully, before replying.

"Bathroom," He stated simply, deciding to see if Mai understood before divulging any unnecessary details. The teen raised an eyebrow, urging her colleague to continue.

"He's not feeling very well- it appears to be a side effect of using his PK. I'll admit that it's not a common one to my knowledge, but his powers can cause near unpredictable reactions in his body." Mai's face turned sad upon hearing Lin's words.

"I want to go and stay with him, do you think he would yell at me if I tried?" The young girl asked, her voice sounding more innocent than usual. Lin thought about her question honestly- he knew how much that the girl cared about Naru, and felt like she deserved a truthful answer.

"At the moment, I'm almost positive that Noll doesn't feel like yelling, though I'm not sure if he feels like having company either," Lin began, pausing to gauge Mai's reaction. Her frown had turned into a sad stare and was directed towards the bathroom. "So in all honesty, I cannot accurately tell you how he'll react, but I won't stop you from going to check on him. Actually, taking into account how he looked earlier, that might be a good idea," he finished, adding to his previous statement.

Mai turned her head back to her co-worker and smiled at him sadly.

"Thanks, Lin," She muttered before yawning and getting out of bed. The Onmyodo inclined his head towards her before relaxing back on his own bed. He closed his eyes warily, as he was still tired from the night before, and his not so restful slumber prior to waking up. He was not sure for how long he had been dozing when the sound of someone knocking on the door to the hotel room awoke him, but it could not have been too long as Oliver and Mai had not returned from the bathroom. Either that, or his charge was just that sick, but Lin highly doubted that as Naru hadn't eaten in several hours, and could not have had much in his stomach at the time he had gotten ill.

With a sigh of aggravation, the dark haired man stood up from his bed and made his way to the hotel room door. He paused at the bathroom door, memories of his dream flashing through his mind, but no sounds could be heard from inside. 'I wonder if he begins feethe dark haired mang better?' the dark haired man thought, then continued walking past the bathroom and then to the entrance of the room. He looked out through the peephole, and the person he saw on the other side of the door almost made him not want to open the door at all. However, for the sake of being polite, he did so anyway.

It was the receptionist from the night before- the one who had tried flirting with Lin until the Onmyodo's agitation had gotten the better of him.

Realizing that the dark haired man had actually opened the door, the young woman smiled at him, though the expression appeared completely professional. There was none of the earlier flirtatiousness in her pale blue eyes.

"Good morning Mr. Lin," She said, her sweet voice sounding particularly gentle. Lin stared at her warily, before inclining his head politely in her direction.

"Hello, Ms...," Lin said, allowing his voice to trail off, as he had not learned her name the night before, most likely due to his anger or sleep deprivation- or both. She smiled at him, although still only politely.

"My name is Hamasaki- Hamasaki Nacora, to be precise," Ms. Hamasaki replied, a slight smile gracing her lips. Lin nodded slightly and allowed a tiny smile to appear on his face, in an attempt to express that he was no longer angry due to their earlier encounter. Ms. Hamasaki smiled, seeming to take the hint that she was forgiven.

"I recall you mentioning that your friend- the one who you carried into the lobby last night, was drunk enough to lose consciousness. I figured that he wouldn't be feeling very well this morning- I've gotten drunk plenty of times and know how it goes. How is he?" Hamasaki asked, genuine concern lighting up her expression.

Lin sighed warily, as his mind wandered back to his sick charge.

"You have very good intuition, Ms. Hamasaki. He's in the bathroom right now- I assume that you can guess the rest," him replied, watching as Ms. Hamasaki cringed slightly.

"Yes, believe me, I can. That's why I brought this," she began, holding up a box that looked to be of full of medicine, "it should make him feel better, maybe not completely, but I'm sure that it'll help." She added, holding the box out towards Lin, who took it gratefully.

"This is very generous, Ms.-" he tried to speak but was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Please, you don't have to call me Ms. Hamasaki- it makes me feel old. Just call me Hamasaki, if you wouldn't mind." Lin quirked an eyebrow at the word 'old'. Hamasaki didn't look like she could be more than twenty, if that, in Lin's opinion. However, not being one to argue, he nodded in agreement.

"Fine, thank you for the medication, Hamasaki," Lin said, smiling slightly. In reality, he was very grateful for the pills- he had no way to make Oliver well otherwise, and they needed to think of a course of action- they could not live in the hotel forever. That would require his charge not feeling so nauseated that he did not want to speak.

Hamasaki smiled sweetly before holding out her hand for Lin to shake. The Onmyodo took it, squeezing it lightly. The pretty receptionist held his hand longer than appropriate. Lin quirked an eyebrow, and she smiled, still not releasing his hand.

"I'm curious, Mr. Lin. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" She questioned, staring straight into Lin's eyes. The Onmyouji sighed, concerned that she still might be flirting with him, then saw no harm in answering- she didn't sound like she was coming onto him.

"I'm twenty-seven," he replied, his tone unsure. Hamasaki flinched slightly, a reaction utterly unanticipated by Lin.

"How old is the girl that came in with you- the one that I originally assumed was your daughter? " Hamasaki asked, her tone sounding unusually clipped. Lin also mentally noted that she released his hand at that moment.

"She's sixteen," He answered, his gaze unconsciously traveling behind him to the door that Mai and Naru still had not exited. Hamasaki's face fell, and she sighed.

"You like them young, then? You're a bit too old for her if you ask me," She stated, casting Lin an abashed look. The stoic Onmyodo head spun around, and sucked in a breath, utterly shocked.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't have feelings for Mai!" He yelled, suddenly losing the ability to control the tone of his voice. "At least not like you're thinking- I'm not attracted to Mai." Hamasaki chuckled, and Lin glared, knowing damn well that nothing he had said was laughable.

"Your reaction, Mr. Lin. It was completely and utterly disbelieving. I believe you completely that you have no sexual feelings towards her, rather due to her age, or for other reasons," Hamasaki chuckled again, then smiled.

"In reality, I might be too old for you as well." Lin stared at her, his eyes as wide as saucers. Hamasaki smiled a genuine unflirty smile.

"Mr. Lin, I'm thirty-three years old," Hamasaki replied, smiling at how Lin's jaw dropped slightly. Lin stared at her, then closed his mouth.

"You're actually my senpai?" He asked, disbelief coloring his words. Hamasaki grinned and nodded.

"I actually am. I understand that I look younger than I appear- to tell you the truth, I often use that to my advantage. However, it seems that what I was trying to do didn't work with you. I wonder- do you have feelings for the boy that you carried in?" Hamasaki asked, a small smirk forming on her lips. Lin raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"No, I don't. He's my charge- I was hired by his parents as a bodyguard," The Onmyodo replied, shaking his head again. Hamasaki chuckled slightly.

"I see- so you don't have feelings for either of the people traveling with you; at least not romantic feelings, that is. To be quite frank with you, Mr. Lin, I have many more questions that I would like to ask you, however, I realize that I brought those pills so that you could make your charge feel better, and have kept you away from him." The receptionist replied, before backing away a few steps. Without saying goodbye, Hamasaki turned on her heel and walked down the hall.

Koujo stared after her in confusion for a moment, before shaking his head and walking back inside the hotel room, closing the door behind him. He walked the few steps that it took to reach the door to the restroom and knocked once on the wood. There was no answer from inside, so Lin sighed and pushed open the door. He walked across the white linoleum floors, forcing the feeling of dread that accompanied it down.

He glanced towards the right corner of the room, where he saw Mai, leaning against a wall with her head laid back on it, and Naru, who still looked pale, with has back to the toilet. He didn't turn around when Lin entered, however, his shoulders twitched in reaction. Mai looked up Lin and offered him a wary smile.

"He really just feels sick. I think that its been too long since he's eaten for there to be anything left to throw up." Lin nodded and approached his charge and colleague.

"Oliver," He said, deep voice low. The teenager opened his eyes and blinked rapidly to clear them, before focusing on his bodyguard's face. He didn't reply, but Lin could tell that he had his attention, "you're still not feeling any better? You've been in here for quite a while," he added, as Noll closed his eyes again.

"I still feel unwell to a certain degree, yes," Noll admitted warily, though he knew that he was lying through his teeth; he felt much more than slightly sick. However, he had never known how to show weakness to anyone, and Lin was no exception.

The Onmyodo sighed before walking over to the sink. He paused as memories assaulted him, and he grabbed the porcelain with the hand not holding the box of pills. He stood there for several minutes before he managed to calm down the pounding of his rapidly racing heart. Once the beats were normal again, he turned the nob of the sink and grabbed the cup sitting beside it.

However, as soon as he saw what was really leaking out of the faucet, the beating of his heart amplified to an alarming rate. There was blood, bright red in color and metallic scented, pouring from the faucet and into the cup. Lin allowed the aforementioned to drop into the sink, as quickly as though he had been burned. The blood ran over his hand, and he stepped back, blinking rapidly.

When the Onmyouji opened his eyes, there was no blood on his hand- simply moisture from the water that was now pouring over the cup. Lin shook his head to clear it, not bothering to glance behind him at the teenagers, as he knew all too well that at least one had noticed his little episode.

He rinsed the cup off from where it had landed in the sink, then filled it with what most definitely appeared to be water thankfully, and not blood. Once the cup was filled, Lin cut off the water and turned around, only to be met with Mai's concerned cinnamon eyes. The brunette said nothing, however, her eyes spoke the volumes of her worry.

Naru, however, was not paying attention it seemed. Lin was secretly grateful for the fact- he knew that at some point, he was going to have to explain Mai what had shocked him while he was filling the cup, but that could wait until later.

Lin approached his charge, who upon hearing his assistant's footsteps, had opened is cerulean blue eyes, and began looking in his direction. It was at that moment that he noticed the box of pills in Lin's hand, and raised a black eyebrow.

"What do you have in that box?" He asked, leaning his head back slightly to get a better view at what the Onmyodo was holding. Noticing this, Lin held the box in front of his chest, allowing his charge to get a better view at what the package entailed. After reading the words printed on the box, Naru raised his other brow as well.

"You think that this will help me feel well again?" He asked, uncertainty coloring his words. Lin shrugged slightly before reaching out towards him, allowing the raven haired teen to grab the cup before tearing off the end of the packaging of the medication, reading the drug facts, and, retrieving two of the white tablets from the box. He held them out to Noll, who took the white tablets in his own hand, before taking a swig of the water and downing them.

Suddenly, he started to choke, as if he swallowed the pills and they had gone down the wrong pipe, however, Lin could see the shock on Naru's face, and knew exactly why he was choking. The water had tasted metallic, like blood.

Jumping into action, Lin knelt down beside Noll and hit him on the back, pinning his shoulder behind him so that he would cease thrashing. Mai stared at her Boss wide-eyed. Lin didn't trust the water in the tap enough to try and quite Oliver's cough with more, so it took several minutes before he was able to breathe again. When the dark haired teen's coughing fit had ended, he stared at his bodyguard with an unreadable expression.

"Lin, what the hell was that?" Lin shook his head, though he could see it in Oliver's blue eyes that he was all too aware of what substance the water he had just drank tasted of. Naru wiped a hand across his mouth and sighed deeply before closing his eyes. He sat like that for several seconds before sighing and getting to his feet. He swayed slightly before turning on his heel and leaving the bathroom.

Mai met Lin's gaze warily as the normally stoic Onmyouji rose to his full height and offered a hand to help her up. She took it, regaining her own footing before lowering her head.

"What's going on, Lin?" She asked, still not looking at her coworker. The dark haired Onmyodo could hear the tears she was fighting back prominently in her voice, much like had been able to hear the unshed tears in Lifen's voice when she had appeared to him the night before. Lin forced the thought down before sighing and rubbing his temple where a slight headache had began to pulse.

"I have no clue what is happening here. Naru thought that getting away from the office would protect us from what you saw," He said, swallowing as memories of the dream where he had seen himself coated in blood and holding Lifen's necklace flashed through his mind. "But apparently, we were followed here." He added, his dark eyes scanning the white paneled bathroom. He found nothing out of the ordinary, however, he still felt...uneasy. He recognized it as being the same sensation that he had felt upon leaving Shibuya Psychic Research the day before, but he did not know exactly what was bringing on the feeling.

In reality, it didn't matter to Lin why he felt ill at ease- he had learned to trust his instincts, and if they were tellling him that something was off, he knew that he'd do damn well to trust them. So he didn't doubt that something was lurking somewhere, watching him. His dream had taught him tha he wasn't safe- not even from himself.

Lin shook his head again to clear it, then met Mai's gaze. The young brunette was staring at him with an unusual look in her eyes. The Onmyodo quirked an inquiring eyebrow, and the girl looked down towards the bathroom floor.

"Lin, you said, 'it seems we were followed', does that mean that you..." Mai began, still not meeting her coworker's eyes. However, the dark haired Onmyodo was all too aware of the question that hung in the air between them. Had he seen his look alike? And the brutal truth of the matter was that he had indeed laid eyes on someone who seemed to be just like him in appearance, but so different from him in personality.

Lin did not want to have, to be honest with Mai about seeing his unsettling counterpart, however, he knew that scaring her was far better than leading her into a false sense of security. He looked towards the sink again, a feeling of dread encompassing his mind, but nonetheless, he did the enevitable.

"I saw...myself in a dream or a vision. I was covered in blood and," The Onmyouji began, then paused as he remembered the familiar necklace with the 'L' charm dangling from the chain, the necklace that had such sentimental value to Lifen that she would never have been willingly separated from it. Lin swallowed, and decided to keep that detail to himself, "I believe that what you saw at the office was the same as what I saw here, hence why I said that we were followed," he admitted.

Mai looked up and met Lin's gaze then; he brown eyes were wide as if she were afraid, however, the twenty-seven year old also noticed a fierce determination in her expression.

"Whatever this thing is, I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out- we always have, haven't we?" Mai asked, and Lin couldn't help but give her a small smile- the young girl's confidence in their abilities was mildly refreshing to the stressed out Onmyouji.

"Indeed we have," He said with a light chuckle before turning on his heel and exiting the bathroom. When he came back into the main area of the hotel room, he saw Oliver sitting on his bed, legs hanging off the side and head cocked to the side. He seemed to be talking softly to someone. It was at that moment Lin realized that his charge was on the phone.

He strained his ears to hear what the raven haired teen was muttering, however, the pitch of Naru's voice was too soft, and he couldn't make out the words. He resigned himself to wait until the paranormal researcher had finished his call to find out what was going on. A minute or so later, he heard the door to the bathroom open, and Mai stepped out of the bathroom and came up behind him, curiosity filling her expression. She touched Lin's arm lightly, and he turned his attention his young coworker, shrugging as he saw her hand pointing towards Naru. She sighed impatiently, relinquishing her hold on his arm, and walked to her bed, taking a seat and staring towards her boss.

It took several minutes, then finally as Lin felt his patience slipping away and began making his way towards his own bed, Noll's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"I just got off the phone with Takigawa, Father Brown, and Ms. Matsuzaki along with Ms. Hara and Yasuhara," the teen began, lowering his cellphone away from his ear and meeting his guardian's gaze. "They'll be meeting us at the office early tomorrow morning. I believe that recent events, including the disappearance of your sister, call for investigating. It has become quite clear to me that we are dealing with paranormal phenomenon." He stated, and paused, waiting for a response from Lin who blinked, and nodded.

"Agreed. We'll head back to the office later on today. It seems it doesn't matter where we are, whatever it is that we're dealing with seems to have the ability to bother us wherever we are." Naru sat still for a moment, pondering his next words.

"There's something else," He replied simply, his cerulean blue gaze meeting Lin's ash gray one. The Onmyouji quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, prompting his charge to continue. Naru moved his gaze towards Mai before finishing. "I called Madoka as well. I believe that we could use her...experience in the field of paranormal research."

Lin wanted to disagree- wanted to say that they didn't need the pinkette's help, however, he realized that what they were dealing with was dangerous. It seemed to be able to manipulate a person's senses, causing them to see, smell, and taste what it wanted them to. Not to mention that if whatever had manipulated his and Naru's sense was one in the same with the look-alike of himself, they were dealing with something that could copy someone's identity.

He would rather Madoka stay safe in England, as she seemed to not realize how dangerous actually being on a case with the phenomenon she researched could be, but he knew that they would need her help to find what the source of their problems was.

One thing that the Onmyouji knew for certain was that with all of the irregulars of Shibuya Psychic Research's team together under one roof, the next day's events would give him a migraine for sure.


	4. Long Live the Car Crash Heart

__

The outdoor air in downtown Shibuya was cold against Koujo Lin's exposed face as he walked inside the Shibuya International Airport. Madoka's flight from Britain had arrived some forty-five minutes before, sometime between Lin's nightmare and his confrontation with Naru. Lin figured that the pinkette would have several not-so-pleasant words to say to him, once he met up with her, due to the lateness of his arrival.

Refusing to allow thoughts of an angry Madoka to cloud his already muddled mind, Lin realized that he had avoided thinking about the dream that he had had while back at the office up until that point, when he could no longer push the thought down. He had saw his entire family  _dead,_ piled atop one another on the kitchen table of the house that had before, held many fond memories for the Onmyouji. Now, Lin could only bring himself to feel discontent towards the place. Though the location of the dream itself was not the worst part of the dream, nor the most emotionally scarring to the dark-haired man. First place in that regard went to the fact that the only member of Lin's family that had not been dead on that table, was none other than his only sister, whom was currently missing, Lifen Lin.

In the dream, which if Lin was being completely honest with himself- was actually more a nightmare, Lifen had appeared to him atop the pile of corpses that were their immediate family. She had proceeded to jump down from the mound of bodies, directly in front of her brother, and then stab him in the shoulder with a knife that he had not realized that she was holding.

Lin had awoken due to a voice yelling his name, and a sharp, uncomfortable, and repetitive jab in his shoulder, that felt strangely like the 'knife' had in his dream. In his shock from the chaos of his reverie, Lin had reflexively, due to his training in the martial art of Kyusho-Jitsu, nearly strangled Naru, who had been poking and speaking to him in an attempt to awake him from his seeming nightmare.

After a vaguely heated exchange of words, Lin had left the office to pick up Madoka from the airport, after Takigawa had alerted him to the fact that the pinkette's flight had arrived some thirty minutes before, during the Onmyodo and Naru's initial altercation.

Lin was waiting for Madoka now- standing in the passenger luggage line of the terminal where the pinkette's plane was supposed to have landed. She did not appear to have arrived within the premises yet. Lin guessed that she had went to the restroom, after deciding that leaving the area would be an alright move to make, seeing as at the time, her escort had failed to arrive in a timely fashion.

Realizing that he might have a moment to put his thoughts to ease, Lin considered calling his mother- after all, it  _was_  just a dream, right? His mother, brothers, and father still had to be alive and well. If not,  _someone_ would have contacted him by now. Weighing his options, Lin decided that easing his mind would be his best bet- driving with a clouded conscience was never a good idea.

Although the rational part of Lin's brain told him that he had nothing to be concerned about, that his family was okay, and he was just letting his emotions get the best of him, the black haired man's heart still beat furiously against his ribcage as he pulled out his gray phone. He pressed the power button on the side, then promptly brought up the contacts menu, and then finally clicked on the contact named 'mom'.

For the first three unanswered rings, Lin felt hopeful that his family was unharmed. Though as soon as the fourth ring sounded, and his call remained unanswered, the Onmyouji felt his composure slipping away, as if being sucked down a high power drain. After the fifth ring, his mother's voice came on the line, and for that one instant, Lin felt his worries disappear. That was until he realized that he was hearing only his mother's voicemail recording. She hadn't picked up her phone.

Lin coughed as he felt his throat becoming thick. His natural reaction to upsetting circumstances. Forcing himself to breathe, Lin ran a hand through the thick fringe covering his right eye, in an effort to give himself something else to focus on.

The action jarred a near-forgotten memory in Lin's mind. One that happened when he was no more than six years old. He had been worried about something long since resolved and had come to his mother for comfort. She had given it to him, of course, though had still sensed her son's fear. He had been brushing his hand through the black lock of hair that had begun to grow over his blind right eye.

Since he was young, that had been his tell, so to speak. Whenever her middle son had begun to distractedly fiddle around with his hair, Lotus Lin had always known, without a doubt, that something was on his mind.

Lotus had grabbed Lin by the hand, pulling him closer to her, then locked him tightly in a motherly embrace. Shocked, Lin had begun to cry into his mother's warm coat, with sensations of comfort and warmth eventually calming him down.

Lin hadn't realized that he'd closed his eyes until they popped open, and he was again standing in the airport terminal. 'Right,  _Madoka.' He_ remembered, glancing around his surroundings warily. Lin wasn't exactly sure of how much time had passed while he had been in his reverie, though it didn't seem like Madoka had shown up.

Just as the thought fled him, a force knocked into the Onmyouji's back, and he stumbled forward slightly. Reflexively, the dark-haired man began to slip into a Kyusho-Jitsu stance, instinctively preparing to defend himself from his unknown assailant. Lin's lean muscles were tense, and he felt his back stiffen with the fierce discipline of his martial arts training. He was well aware that he needed to be absolutely ready fight if this was the bastard who had taken his sister.

His adversary felt the change in his posture as well. Proof to that testament was given in the form of a high-pitched, distinctly feminine squeal that suddenly sounded from directly behind Lin. The slightly startled man spun around, his hands still in front of his chest defensively. Accusing slate-gray eyes met a pair of soft, rose pink ones.

Lin registered who he was locking eyes with after a moment of silence. Registering that there was no immediate threat and relaxing would be the prudent action to take, he lowered his hands to his sides and finally, properly addressed Madoka.

"Ah, I apologize for my reaction- I must admit that you startled me slightly. Hello, Madoka," said the once again stoic Lin. Madoka relaxed as well- for a moment, she had thought for a moment that Lin would not realize who had bumped into him, and would injure her before it dawned on him who he'd attacked. Relief spread through the pinkette and she giggled slightly. Lin glanced at her in confusion, however, he said nothing- most likely deciding that he really didn't need to know what she thought was so funny about their prior predicament.

Ceasing in her laughter, Madoka simply smiled at Lin. The dark haired man didn't return the gesture. He simply began to fiddle around with the buttons on his black dress jacket. Sighing at her failed attempt at being friendly to the deadly stoic man, Madoka finally replied back to her escort's earlier greeting.

"It's nice to see you, Lin. You look well- how long has it been? Six months, right?" The pinkette asked, counting forward from the month of Eugene's funeral. Lin blinked at the question, before beginning his own calculation.

"Something like that," he replied after a moment. Lin did not really wish to be reminded of the demise of the other Davis twin at a time like this when the death of his own family could be looming. Fidgeting uncomfortably with the thought prominently in the front of his mind, Lin's mind wandered back to his previous attempt at calling his mother, how her voice-mail had given him so much hope- albeit temporarily, only then to have all hope crushed in an instant. The black-haired man uncontrollably flinched at the upsetting memory, and the ever-perceptive Madoka took notice. The pinkette's brow furrowed slightly in concern.

"Lin, are you alright?" she asked quietly, "for a moment there, you looked like you were in some kind of pain," Madoka found herself reaching towards him with an outstretched hand. Seeing the action, Lin met her gaze. His gray eyes were cold, emotionless even. Seeing the dark expression in his stare, Madoka thought better of her well-meaning intention of physically comforting him, and quickly lowered her hand. She had no idea that the look in Lin's eyes was not because of her- had no inclination of the horrible dreams that had been plaguing him, and now seemed to be carrying over into his waking life.

Stiffening and turning his head away from her, Lin answered, although the need to was now most likely redundant.

"I'm perfectly fine," he muttered, more to himself than to Madoka. He was, of course, lying through his teeth, although he thought it best to keep up the appearance of having his emotions in check. He gritted his teeth together at the prevarication- a part of him, however, miniscule it may have been, wanted to be truthful with Madoka. However, the larger, more dominant part of him did not want to admit his fears and worries to  _anyone,_ especially not to her. Not yet, and maybe not ever. "we should be getting back to SPR soon. We wouldn't want to cause everyone undue concern with a prolonged absence."

Not waiting for an answer, the tall, black-haired man turned around and began walking in the general direction of the exit to the crowded airport. Madoka trailed behind, for some reason feeling as though she had been slapped. She couldn't put her finger on what made her feel that way, however she guessed that it had to do with how Lin seemed to not trust her enough to tell her what was bothering him, even after all of these years. It didn't seem that the tall Onmyouji would ever forgive her for what had turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life. Not that she deserved to be forgiven, after all. She had more or less broken a younger Lin's heart, after feeling like he had rejected her. It had taken her years of maturing to realize that his 'rejection' had actually been him trying to be smart about the situation they had found themselves in. He'd been trying to  _protect_ her, not make her feel unloved.

She had been a fool- a young girl foolishly in love. Her misunderstanding of the past seemed to have cost her the love of her life. There hadn't been a day since the event that Madoka hadn't wished that she could go back to that day, with the understanding she had now, and tell Lin that she respected the decision he had made. But as she had heard so many times, you can't remake the past; you have to make the best of your future. The pink-haired woman hoped that there would be a day when she didn't have to regret her mistake, and could move on with the future. This memory was the only thing that her optimistic outlook on life could not faze- perhaps with time, that too would change.

"Madoka, you're coming to SPR with me, correct?" a deep voice asked out of the blue, jolting Madoka from her thoughts. It was Lin, who was now standing in front of the sliding doors that were the exit to the airport. The petite woman had stalled a few feet behind Lin and hadn't moved in several seconds.

Realizing that Madoka was not paying enough attention to answer, Lin led the way to the car and was just about to open the trunk when a startled gasp made him whip his head in Madoka's direction. The Pinkette had a look of horror on her face, one that made Lin's stomach turn uncomfortably.

"What is it?" he asked frantically, fearing the worst from her answer. However, what Madoka had to say almost was enough to make Lin lose his composure.

"I left my luggage inside!" Madoka said, her voice near hysterical. Lin sighed irritably, before lifting up the suitcase in his hand.

"I got it off the return while you were zoned out. You're holding your purse if you weren't aware- somehow, you managed to keep a hold on it and not allow it to get stolen on the way out," The stoic man replied, dropping the luggage into the back and slamming the hood back down. "get into the car- we really should be getting back." Lin added, getting into his side of the car for added emphasis.

Obeying obediently, Madoka got in as well. Lin turned the keys in the ignition, and the car roared to life. Neither spoke as Lin drove down the road, and entered the crowded highway. Lin drove in silence, and Madoka was lost in thought.

Lin wanted to talk to her- to tell her that he was no longer angry with her for their past. He had wanted to tell her that every time he had seen her since that fateful day, but had never had the ability to do so. Whether it was cowardice or fear of not being forgiven, he had never had the mental strength to bring the matter up. Not that apologizing would make any difference in their relationship, but it would make Lin feel like he had done all he could to make amends, instead of him feeling like he had made a half-assed attempt.

Lin was about to say something that he had wanted to say for years but was cut off by a forceful impact on his side of the vehicle. Another car had broadsided the front end of his car. It had been going about seventy-five mph. Lin was flung sideways, and despite the seat belt around him, the Onmyouji's head slammed into the window.

Lin's vision began to rapidly go black, and he realized in silent terror that he would be unable to even attempt to fight for control of the vehicle that was quickly spinning out of control. Lin was slipping faster into unconsciousness- he could no longer see the road, nor feel his body laying sideways in the seat. He had time for one final thought before the impenetrable darkness overwhelmed his senses completely. The thought was for Madoka's well-being, rather than his own. ' _Please Madoka, don't die'_ he begged in his mind, before passing out.

The car continued to swerve in between the lanes, as other cars attempted to maneuver out of its range. With no guidance from a driver, the car ran into the metal road dividers forcefully. The vehicle flipped over the railing, and hit the ground, continuing to revolve across the asphalt several times, before coming to a harsh stop in the middle of the road. But the damage wasn't done yet. Another driver coming from the opposite direction had not realized that there was a vehicle in the middle of his lane. He drove straight into the already wrecked vehicle going at about sixty mph. Lin's car was rammed out of the road, and into the no parking lane.

Two bodies laid still among the remnants of broken glass.

…

…

Kazuya Shibuya paced irritably across his office floor. Lin and Madoka had yet to arrive, and as much as Naru hated to admit it, he was beginning to become worried for their sakes- too much had happened recently for concern not to arise over the whereabouts of two people who were considerably late. And it was unlike Lin to be late in the first place- he hated leaving Naru unguarded, after all, everyone had become more protective of him after the death of his brother. No one wanted to bury the other Davis twin.

Starting his tenth walk across his spacious office, Naru waited silently for the door to his office to open- waited for Lin and Madoka to be standing there, one with a stoic expression and the other with a goofy grin.

Five minutes later, Naru got his first wish; the door was flung open forcefully to admit an out of breath Takigawa, who held the cordless office phone in his hand. His expression told Naru everything he needed to know.

" . .Crash. Lin and- and Madoka," The Monk said, nearly gasping for breath. Naru froze in his tracks, his already pale face draining of color.

"Where are they?" the researcher's voice was low, and he wondered if he had spoken loud enough for Honshou to hear him. Somehow, the monk did hear the low question directed at him.

"Still at the accident scene- the EMT called to the scene was the same on who loaded Lin into the ambulance when he hurt his leg. He recognized him and managed to find out where he worked- he called as soon as he found us," he replied, regaining some of his lost breath.

"How bad is it?" Naru asked after a moment, not really wanting to know the answer, but feeling the need to ask nonetheless.

Monk flinched at the question. "I really don't know, Naru," Something in his tone told Naru that he was being lied to, but he didn't have the presence of mind to push the issue.

…

…

EMT's worked tirelessly to stabilize the two victims of the car crash. The man who had been pulled from the wreckage was bleeding from a large wound on his head- most likely from where he had hit it on the window. He had passed out from the force- and the EMT guessed that he had a severe concussion. The EMT working on Lin was a young male in his early thirties- he had been the same one who had stabilized Lin after he had broken his leg.

That injury was tame compared to what the EMT was seeing now; Lin obviously had been through the ringer. Knowing that he needed to remove Lin's jacket and shirt physically hurt the young medic. He knew that Lin was probably severely injured from head to toe- he didn't need to proof to believe that.

Unfastening the buttons of Lin's black coat, the medic removed the garment carefully and allowed it to stay sprawled out underneath the Onmyouji. The EMT's eyes instantly fell on the pools of blood that were forming on Lin's white dress shirt.

Steeling himself, the medic unfastened the shirt, and ran his hands over Lin's sides, feeling his ribs. He must have hit a particularly sensitive area because Lin shot up from his position on the mat. The force must have aggravated all of his injuries, because the dark-haired man screamed in utter agony, and his feverish gray eyes met the EMT's worried blue ones.

The medic carefully attempted to coax Lin into laying back down, but the injured bodyguard would have nothing of it.

"Madoka," he slurred, blinking slightly in obvious confusion. Lin sank forward slightly as a sensation of vertigo swept over him; black dots swam before his eyes, and the sound of the ocean roared in his ears. He was vaguely aware that he was about to pass out again. "Madoka kee- keep her safe," Lin muttered, his eyes closing again, and his full weight tumbled forward into the EMT's waiting arms. The medic lowered the unconscious man back onto the mat.

It was obvious that Lin had several broken ribs, if not many other broken bones. He had also shown obvious signs of a concussion- slurred speech, disorientation, dizziness. The man would be on bed rest for weeks, no doubt about it. But the worst of it was that the medic had no idea of how bad off the woman, Madoka, was. He hoped for Lin's sake that she was alright.

….

….

Twenty minutes later, Lin had been loaded into one ambulance, and Madoka in another. Lin laid on the gurney, an IV stuck into his vein and a breath mask over his mouth. A heart monitor had also been attached to Lin. He had seemed to be stabilized. Until the ambulance had made its way halfway to the hospital, all had been silent, other than Lin's labored breathing under the breath mask.

But suddenly, a sharp gasp rang throughout the small ambulance back, and the heart monitor began to beep, as Lin's back arched against the gurney.

"What's going on with him?" one of the younger medics asked, spooked out of his wits.

"He's seizing, probably due the head injury he sustained when he hit it on the window," the senior medic replied, walking over to Lin and gently moving his head to the side, to allow any excess saliva of other fluids to escape from Lin's mouth and not choke him. "it should resolve itself in a moment," he added, seeing the whitening of the younger medic's face. "You had medical training, didn't you? Calm down and use it,"

The younger man nodded quietly. "I'm sorry, it's just that this is the first time that I've seen this up close,"

The senior medic nodded, his hard eyes softening a bit. "I understand- but it'll get easier. Just try to calm down, kid. The seizure shouldn't affect the patient too much- probably will just aggravate a few of the existing injuries. It'll be over shortly," sure enough, three and half minutes later, Lin's body seized convulsing, and the Onmyouji laid flat on the gurney, his breathing labored.

That he hadn't woken up during the ordeal, was a miracle in itself- he would feel like hell when he awoke. There was no need for him to hasten into the pain.

Fifteen minutes later, Lin was unloaded from the ambulance and taken to the critical care unit. Several x-rays and stitches later, he was transported to a recovery room and tucked into bed. It wasn't long after that Naru and the rest of the Irregulars arrived at the hospital, although only Naru was allowed to see Lin due to the one visitor policy in place at night.

The paranormal researcher stared at his unconscious bodyguard- Lin had gauze wrapped around his head. His left arm was in a sling; he'd dislocated his shoulder. Lin had several broken ribs on both sides, and quite a few pulled muscles in his back, as well as in his neck. He had sustained a severe concussion from the force of his head slamming into the window, which would most likely have many unpleasant side effects of its own.

Lin had more injuries that Naru did not care to recount in his head; he assumed that they would all surface sooner or later after the Onmyouji awoke. The doctor had also informed Naru that Madoka was not much better off, but was also stable. The raven-haired teen decided that he would check on her later. For now, he had allowed Mai to be the pinkette's one visitor.

Sighing in frustration after a moment of pacing, Naru remembered what it was that he needed to do; the hospital staff had not known who else to call about Lin's accident, so Naru had promised to take the task upon himself. He already knew who he was going to call. He grabbed Lin's phone that had been left on the bedside table, and cut it on. The screen had a small crack running through it, but otherwise, seemed to be alright.

Naru flicked through the speed dial until he found the name that he needed. He held the phone up to his ear and walked towards the door, his back to the unconscious man in the bed. It took three rings before the person on the other line answered the call.

"Koujo," a pause ensued, and Naru thought that he could barely hear someone yawning on the other line; it appeared that the researcher had awoken Lukida from his sleep. "why the hell are you calling at this hour?" Noll sighed, for it had to be done.

"This is actually Kazuya Shibuya- I'm calling.. about Lin," he muttered. He was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath from the other end.

"What about him? What happened to Koujo?" Lukida asked, intense anger coloring his words. He already had one sibling to worry about; he sure as hell didn't need another.

"He was in a car wreck. He was pretty severely injured- several broken ribs, a concussion, and other injuries. The doctors say that he should make it, but I still thought that you'd like to know about his current condition," there was a long pause before Lukida regained his voice.

"Yes, thank you for calling. Draidyan, Nazuke, and I will be traveling to Japan to see him very soon. I believe our parents would like to stay home just in case there is some new development regarding Lifen. I'll see you soon, Mr. Shibuya," Lukida said, hanging up the call- Naru had heard the man's composure slipping through the cracks, and understood completely why he had gotten off the phone so quickly.

Sighing again, Naru situated himself in the guest chair by Lin's bed. He eventually curled up in the chair and fell asleep. At some point during the night, a nurse covered the young researcher with a sheet.

Kazuya Shibuya slept restlessly.

…

…

Three tall men boarded a plane along with the other passengers. It was a flight from Hong Kong to Shibuya Japan; a place that none of the three men were familiar with, but a place that they very urgently needed to go, nonetheless.

Koujo Lin, their brother- two of the men being older than Lin, and one being younger- had been in a car wreck. He wasn't at risk of dying as far as they had heard, but he would not be well when he awoke. The brothers knew that as soon as he was able, Lin was going to bombard them with questions whose answers they couldn't provide; they didn't  _know_ who took Lifen; they didn't  _know_ where she was likely to be; they didn't  _know_ if she was even still alive.

They didn't know anything about her disappearance, and it hurt like hell. They all only had the one sister, and she was missing, and there was nothing that the brothers could do about it. And now, after all of the emotional turmoil of the last few days, which if they were being completely honest, felt like an eternity, now they had been forced to tell their mother that one of her sons had been in a car crash, and none of them knew if he was truly alright or not.

The waiting only made it harder, and the three men had about four hours left of it before they could see their brother. The only thing that comforted them was the knowledge that their brother had not been killed in the crash, and that, even though it was a risk to his health, Draidyan had the power to heal injuries, at the expense of losing some of his own energy.

It was not the best, nor the most promising method, but it was an available option if Lin's condition took a sudden turn for the worst.

Without the knowledge that even if his health deteriorated, all hope was not lost for Lin, the brothers didn't know what they'd do. Most likely be damn near worked up enough to have nervous break-downs.

In silent unison, three brothers decided to sleep until they got to Shibuya; they would most likely be in for a long day when they got there, and it was best to go ahead and rest up.

…

…

_~Five hours later~_

Koujo Lin shifted restlessly against the white hospital sheets that he had been laid upon; the Onmyouji had yet to awaken from the drugs that had been injected into his system, however, the nurse who had been in charge of his care had assured the four people in Lin's room that it should not take much longer for him to regain consciousness.

The nurse had said that he would also feel quite ill a few minutes after waking up, due to the side effects of the concussion and drugs circulating through his bloodstream.

The nurse had left them to their own devices after instructing them that if her help was needed, to not hesitate to call. Everyone in the room was worn out; Lin's three brothers from jet lag and Naru from sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair for several hours.

None of them had much patience; they were all worried about the injured man in the bed, and how bad off he would be once he awoke. Although it was scary, each was anxious for Lin to wake up, so they could have proof that he was not going to die.

Luckily, they did not have to wait long, for Lin stirred in the bed not twenty minutes later. Lin blinked his slate gray eyes open, and his gaze immediately fell on the visitors in his room. One of them he had expected to see, but the other three made him question whether or not he was dreaming. Nazuke was the first to be at his brother's side.

The rebellious youth had been panicking; that had been obvious to the others, but for Nazuke's sake, they had remained silent on the matter. But seeing him rush over to Lin made them wonder whether or not they should have given him some sort of comfort.

They didn't have time to ponder the question before Lin's groggy voice could be heard in the room.

"Nazie?" he asked uncertainly, addressing Nazuke with the nickname he had been given when the siblings were young.

Nazuke managed a half-smile. "Kou, it's good to see you awake," the twenty-two year old said in response. Lin continued to stare at his younger brother, taking in Nazuke's 6'3 frame, familiar sapphire blue eyes, black and red hair styled in spiky layers. It was all familiar: Lin realized that he was definitely looking at his real brother, and not a copy. Or at least, he hoped that this wasn't the shape-shifter who had been causing him trouble.

"What are you three doing here?" Lin asked, including his two older brothers into the conversation. Upon being addressed, Draidyan and Lukida stepped forward and smiled at their injured younger brother.

"We came to see you; Kazuya here called Lukida and told him that you were hurt. We flew here on a plane last night. We've been here for about an hour, waiting for you to wake up," Draidyan said, covering his mouth as he yawned. The oldest of the brothers was tired; incredibly so. He had only managed to sleep on the plane for about an hour before turbulence and fear for his injured brother and missing sister engulfed him.

Nazuke and Lukida hadn't slept much better, though they had gotten slightly more sleep than Draidyan. The three were all worn thin, in both patience and energy. They would have to leave the hospital soon to get some rest unless they all wanted to end up in the hospital along with Lin.

After a moment, Lin seemed to accept Draidyan's answer. "I see. That explains why you all look half dead on your feet. I'll assume that I can attribute your appearances to jet lag?" The Onmyouji asked, smiling slightly.

The smile remained on his face until a sudden, heart-wrenching thought made him cringe. "Madoka, she was in the car with me. Is she alright?" Lin asked, fear almost breaking his composure and leaking into his voice.

Naru, who had been standing next to the wall with his eyes closed, spoke for the first time since his bodyguard had awoken.

"Madoka was injured, though you have no reason to worry. The doctor says that she was injured nowhere near as badly as you were. I'm not sure if that last bit of information will offer you any sort of comfort, but it's the truth," said the researcher seriously, "the doctor says that you can see her as soon as you both are feeling a bit better," he added, guessing Lin's next question.

Lin relaxed against the mattress, suddenly feeling drained as another, painful thought crossed his mind.

"What about the driver of the other vehicle?"

Sapphire blue eyes narrowed angrily in Lin's question, and Nazuke's fist clenched at his side. However, his anger was not directed at Lin. "Which driver?" he asked, sarcasm venomously dripping from his words. Lin's gray eyes narrowed as well, though not in anger, but confusion.

"Excuse me?" Lin asked, shock adding an unintentional bite to his words. Nazuke blinked, seeming to come out of his infuriated reverie. The youngest of the brothers sighed and ran a hand through his red and black streaked hair. Seeing that Nazuke did not want to be the bearer of bad new, Draidyan took it upon himself to give Lin the exposition that he was requesting.

"Lin, your vehicle was hit twice, by two separate automobiles. The driver of the first car has yet to be found. The damaged vehicle was found abandoned a bit up the road, but the driver was nowhere to be seen. There were no trails of blood suggesting that the driver had escaped on foot. Quite frankly, it's as though the driver simply vanished. As for the driver of the second car, he is in similar condition to Madoka, and should make a full recovery," Lin's oldest brother stated, leaning towards him and squeezing Lin's shoulder.

Lin was stiff as he did so- either in shock or pain, and Draidyan was forcefully reminded that his younger brother had just been in a potentially life-threatening car crash. He stared at Lin's face, however, the Onmyouji seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "Lin, are you with me still?"

Lin blinked suddenly, before focusing on Draidyan's face. "I'm here, I simply had several questions going through my mind at once,"

Draidyan understood completely; Lin had nearly lost his life and was now finding out that the driver who had originally caused his accident, had disappeared without a trace. He was bound to have many questions that he was not asking for answers to.

"Care to ask us the questions on your mind? We might know the answers," Lukida said gently, deciding for the first time in awhile to join the conversation.

Lin shook his head, causing a sensation of vertigo to come over him. He closed his eyes in an attempt to cause the feeling of dizziness to abate. Despite how he felt, Lin decided to continue the conversation, if for no other reason than to preserve his sanity; the questions in his head needed answers before they became overwhelming to him.

"Most of the questions in my head are ones that I only I can truthfully answer. I have a hypothesis as to who caused the wreck, though I need opinions on the matter before I come to a definite conclusion," Lin admitted. He would have said more, however, he could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness once again; the drugs that he had been given for more than potent enough to keep the Onmyouji laying down for a good while.

"What is your hypothesis?" Draidyan asked after a moment, as Lin had not said anything else after his previous announcement. Lin managed to open his eyes and lift his head up, making eye contact with Draidyan for a moment before re-closing his eyes.

"I'll tell you later; drugs are kicking in- I'm about to go out again." As Lin said that, he could feel his head rolling to the side as his muscles relaxed. The last thing that he heard before fading out was the sound of the door to his room closing.

…

…

Lin awoke surrounded by complete darkness. The scent of sterilization encompassed his senses. It took a moment for his memories to return to him, though once they did, he only had one thought on his mind; the desire to fill his need to see Madoka.

The doctor had told Naru that he would be allowed to see her when both of them were healthier, though the Onmyodo didn't want to wait that long. He felt the need to see the pink-haired lady, if not for only a moment, to prove that she was alive.

Resigning himself to the task at hand, Lin reached to his right in the darkness of the room, his hand groping for the switch to the lamp that should have been on the bedside table. Lin found the switch after a moment, and the light flickered on, illuminating the tidy white-walled hospital room.

Lin removed the blanket from his torso using his good arm, then gingerly pulled his long legs out. He was wearing a hospital gown. The stoic man wanted to shake his head in disapproval, though refrained from it; the concussion made it difficult to move his head very much without making himself feel dizzy and sick.

Sighing in pain and frustration, Lin managed to pull himself off the bed and rise to his full height. Pain burst behind his eyelids as the pressure in his head threatened to overwhelm him. Lin breathed harshly for several seconds before the pain alleviated enough for him to gently lift his head up.

It was not until a moment later that Lin remembered the monitors hooked via wires to his veins. If he pulled them out, an alarm would go off, and most likely alert the on-call doctor, and wake up all of the other resting patients in the process. Lin couldn't risk detection if he wanted to see Madoka unhindered.

Weighing his options, Lin decided to call Draidyan. He knew his oldest brother well enough that he was certain that even if Lukida, Nazuke, and Naru, and the Irregulars had gone back to SPR to rest, Draidyan would have stayed. He was most likely in the waiting room, waiting for visiting hours to start again.

Lin reached behind his back for his cellphone laid on the bedside table. He grabbed it and flicked through his contacts until he came to the one he needed. It rang only twice before Draidyan answered.

"Koujo?" Draidyan's groggy sounding voice came through the line, uncertainty seemingly coloring the thirty-year-old's words. "why are you calling this late? Are you alright?"

Lin sighed deeply. "I'm fine, though I have a preposition,"

Draidyan was silent on the other line for a few moments, before answering. "May I take an educated guess as to what that preposition entails?"

"I'm not stopping you,"

"No, I guess you aren't. But you want me to help you see  _her,_ don't you?" Draidyan asked, a knowing tone replacing the underlying tired one.

Lin stiffened slightly as the truth was thrown into his face. He had always known that Draidyan was smart, and kept a watchful eye on his younger siblings, however, Lin had 'grown up' many years before. He had assumed that he and Lukida were out of the stage where Draidyan felt the need to watch them like a hawk.

Apparently, he had been very wrong, and there was no hiding the truth of the matter from his oldest brother any longer. "Yes, I do want to see her. I just have to see for myself that she is alright,"

Draidyan didn't respond to Lin's honest answer for awhile- long enough that Lin began to wonder if Draidyan had hung up without his knowledge. Just as Lin was about to say something, Draidyan spoke up.

"I'll do my best to help you get out of the room, but you should realize that you're connected a monitor- I'm not sure if it's mobile,"

Lin glanced at the monitor in front of him; it appeared that if it was unplugged from the wall, that the machine could be transported out of the room. "It appears as if they are, though I'm not positive,"

A second lapsed.

"Alright, I'm on my way. Should be there in three to five minutes," a beep sounded as Draidyan disconnected the call.

Moments passed and the door to Lin's room was gently opened. A disgruntled Draidyan stood in the doorway, his black hair in disarray, and his black leather jacket wrinkled. He didn't hesitate as he carefully closed the heavy metal door, then walked over to Lin. It was in this moment that Lin realized that he was holding two articles of clothing.

"Figured you'd want to be slightly more.. covered then they have you now," he said, smirking as he took in Lin's hospital gown. Irritated, Lin grabbed the pants and undergarment from his brother's grasp and dressed.

When he was finished, Draidyan stared at him, as if he was trying to see the inner workings of Lin's body. "How do you feel?" he settled on asking.

Lin blinked at the question. "I feel fine," he answered, gritting his teeth about the lie. However, Draidyan was no fool.

"And how do you  _honestly_ feel?"

"Like hell," Lin answered truthfully, "I'm both mentally and physically drained; I have something after me and I have no idea what it is, but I know that there's a damn high chance that it's what took Lifen,"

Draidyan sighed warily. "I know what is physically draining you, but I only know parts of what is affecting you mentally. Care to enlighten me?"

"Dreams," Lin answered simply. "I've been having terrible dreams about Lifen. In the last one, it appeared as though she had killed the rest of you, and then stabbed me, although that last part might have been influenced by an outside force," seeing Draidyan's questioning look, Lin laughed humorlessly. "Naru was jabbing me in the shoulder, trying to wake me up. My Kyusho-Jitsu kicked in, and I responded by nearly strangling him to death,"

Draidyan stared at his brother, his face frozen between amusement and horror. "You make a living in part as a bodyguard, yet you nearly kill the one you're assigned to guard? Anti-climatic, wouldn't you say, dear brother?"

Lin stiffened.  _Sarcasm._ He was definitely hearing  _sarcasm_  in his brother's voice, and it made him angry. Lin did not allow his anger to seep into his voice.

"This is a serious situation, in my opinion. It amazes me how you still have the audacity to speak so sarcastically about our predicament," Lin realized that he hadn't sounded angry- but severely condescending.

Draidyan, despite the harsh words directed at him, simply smiled, and his silver-gray eyes twinkled from behind his glasses, even in the dimness of the room. "Audacity, eh? What if I told you that I wasn't being audacious at all, but trying to use humor to diffuse the tension?"

The look in Lin's eyes told Draidyan that he had no intention of solving the riddle of what Draidyan was trying to say. Draidyan removed his glasses from his face, and preoccupied himself for a moment by cleaning them on his black shirt, then returned them to their previous position. "What I mean is that after the dreams that you've been having, and the general worry for Lifen and your own safety, as well as those around you, I highly doubt that you have been able to relax much lately. You're tense with fear, yet your too damn stoic to show it,"

Lin stared at Draidyan, before cutting his gaze to the floor.  _'How can he always read me so well? How does he know exactly what I'm thinking?'_ Lin thought to himself, seeking an answer to questions that after twenty plus years, Lin had still not gotten any closer to figuring out.

Draidyan smirked again. "I'm not the mind-reader in the family- you know all too well that Nazuke can read minds when he applies himself. I simply have a great sense of intuition; I've known you since we were children, Koujo. I understand the basic principles of how your mind works,"

"I realize that, though sometimes I wish you weren't quite so accurate," Lin replied, meeting his brother's gaze again. "You make me see the truths that I'd often rather avoid." Draidyan smiled- genuinely this time.

"I'll take that as a compliment." a pause ensued, then, "you still haven't told me your hypothesis from earlier,"

Lin nodded. "I realize that; I'm not saying anything until I can have a meeting with everyone involved- the other members of the research team included,"

Draidyan shook his head in aggravation but didn't complain. Instead, he turned his attention to the machine Lin was hooked up to. "If you pulled the wire out, an alarm would go off and alert the doctor, and I assume that you don't want that. I believe that I can unplug it from the power outlet without setting off an alarm because it should be equipped with a backup battery," Draidyan didn't wait for Lin's approval, instead, he went straight to the outlet and unplugged the cord. No alarm sounded, and Lin sighed audibly in relief.

"Thank you, Draidyan,"

"Not a problem, Koujo. I wrapped the cord around the machine, so it shouldn't drag. You're good to go,"

Lin was about to leave before he decided to show a rare moment of affection towards his oldest brother. He turned towards the older man and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Draidyan responded by squeezing Lin's good shoulder gently.

"I'm admittedly, a tad afraid of hugging you right now. I'd rather not have you writhing on the floor in agony," Draidyan chuckled lightheartedly, and Lin found himself smiling slightly before grabbing hold of the machine that he was connected to and leaving the room.

Once in the darkened hallway, Lin walked past each door, reading the name-tags of the patients inside until he found the one labeled 'Mori, Madoka'. Breathing deeply, the dark-haired man pushed the door open, stepped inside, and carefully shut the door.

He turned towards the bed and saw what he had been looking for. Madoka laid in the bed, pink hair pushed behind her, and covers pulled up to her chin. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

Lin couldn't help but feel disappointed; he had been hoping to hear her speak for further proof that she was alive, however, he did not wish to wake her up.

Not sure of exactly what else to do, Lin walked next to the bed and stared at the pinkette's sleeping face. She was as beautiful. In fact, she was so beautiful that Lin found his hand caressing her face gently as she slept. Sh was still as beautiful as she had been when she was seventeen when her and Lin's relationship had been ended.

Lin rubbed careful circles into her face, not really understanding what he was doing. Seconds passed before he glanced at Madoka's face again. Only this time, a pair of pink eyes stared up at him.

Lin stumbled backward in shock; so Madoka hadn't been sleeping. He was a fool- a damn fool for not making certain. What had he been doing, anyway?

Madoka appeared startled, yet she reached for the stunned Onmyouji's wrist, grasping it in an iron-clad grip. Lin attempted to turn around and leave the room, however, with Madoka pulling his arm and him being fairly far away from the monitor he was hooked to, Lin felt the resistance and allowed himself to be pulled forward. He assumed that he'd be able to catch himself before coming closer to Madoka, but he was wrong.

Lin landed above Madoka, his good arm beside her head. The impact jarred his injured shoulder, and he winced but didn't cry out in pain. Instead, he took in his suggestive position above Madoka.

Madoka noticed it too, though instead of pushing him away, she reached up and began brushing Lin's hair from his blind eye. The half-blind man stiffened and was about to pull away until he felt lips against his own.

Madoka was kissing him and took only a moment for him to realize that he was kissing her back. Hidden, painful memories assaulted Lin, and he fought to force them back into his subconscious to where they belonged, but to no avail.

The memories just kept coming- images of one of the defining moments of Lin's life. He couldn't deal with it. Not then, and maybe not ever. It was just too damn much.

"What the hell are you doing?" an infuriated voice yelled, and Lin cringed because he realized that it was his own. He had broken the kiss and cried out. He was  _angry_ , furious even. Madoka had kissed him after what she had done in the past.

It wasn't right- she didn't have the right. Who was she to confuse his head so much? He didn't know what he wanted to. He had thought that he'd gotten over the past. It had been a hit and miss, and he hadn't been able to do anything about it.

But after being kissed by Madoka again, Lin was no longer sure about anything. He became vaguely aware that Madoka was speaking to him, with tears in her eyes, but Lin couldn't bring himself to care.

He grabbed the machine hooked to his arm and fled the confines of Madoka's room, not even bothering to make sure that the door didn't slam shut.

He'd had enough shock for one day.


End file.
